LOVE MONTH: DAY 2: “Silence the angry man with love. Silence the ill-natured man with kindness. Silence the miser with generosity. Silence the liar with truth.” -Buddha
And remember there is NO need to tell them any of it! We are sometimes so self-centered that we believe we need to tell others how and why we are doing these things.
It is no one else’s business why I am treating them with love, or kindness, or generosity or the truth. Those things are my ONLY job since I practice this 12-step process.
So, this is another way of saying that I practice LOVE, KINDNESS, GENEROSITY, and TRUTH because I am practicing recovery. Okay. This is my only job since getting to this place.
I often forget what my primary purpose is. Here we have a great reminder. Not only does it tell us when to do these things, but also how.
I really need to remember who I am and why I am blessed with abstinence from a “seemingly hopeless state of body and mind”. It is not, nor will it ever be, because I am a spiritual giant or a great person. It is because I am a BLESSED drug addict and alcoholic.
Oh! So, the path I walk is supposed to speak to the world about 12-step recovery. The summation of all 12 steps is LOVE. If I have unconditional love in my heart for everyone and everything, I MUST do these things. Not to silence anyone, but to take the anger, ill-nature, miserly and liar out of ME.
I cannot afford to participate in anything that is NOT love.
If I have practiced these steps with even half the energy and enthusiasm and dedication I showed for drugs and alcohol, the only result will be that I find LOVE. We are doing these things to remain abstinent and find a relationship with a Higher Power. SO…that means LOVE.
Period. I must expect to walk the world loving others and myself in unselfish and unconditional ways. If I am not there, it is because the process needs to be completed, over and over, (my opinion) until I am in that place. This took me quite a few years to understand and grab hold of.
I kept trying to be HERE when I was 5, 10, 15 and 20 years into this deal. I wasn’t, and I was sure I was a dismal failure. Today I see what it took to get HERE. I like it HERE, but I can also see the beauty of THERE, which is where I am headed.
My humanity tells me that there is always more progress to achieve. There always was and always will be. I am okay with that. I get to work with others and listen in meetings to those things to see where I once was and how it is now. I also get to sponsor others so I can remember just how things used to feel and look.
I am grateful for being where I am today. HERE is better than where I once was, but not as great as where I believe I will go.
That is not to say there is more money, property or prestige in my future. It IS to say that I recognize, a great deal better than ever before, that there IS a great deal more acceptance, unconditional love, and happiness than EVER before. That is how this whole things works, at least for me. LOVE to all!
Dolphin Hug 