HOPE MONTH: DAY 26: “Hope is a force of nature. Don’t let anyone tell you different.” ― Jim Butcher
Without hope, we would have no springboard into this new life of recovery. It takes complete devastation of the human ego for spiritual growth to take place. Quite often, we can recoup some of our social status, financial wherewithal, or family relationships to the point that relapse becomes a factor. If we cannot, once again, regain that state of desperate unhappiness, coupled with the hopeful willingness to come back into recovery, we are doomed.
The steps are a progressive platform for us to stand on to maintain early abstinence from drugs and alcohol. They are NOT the problem. In my personal experience around here, I can honestly say that there are many worse things than drinking or drugging. While that is believed to be the point where relapse happens, we know it is not.
So, how do we remain hopeful about our recovery? We remain willing to do what is necessary to foster and deepen our spiritual growth. However, we must always remember that we live with a constant companion in the ego. And that will always be the threat to our comfortable spiritual life.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have it smashed, once and for all? Not possible. We must learn to balance our thinking on a spiritual plane. Each time we achieve a comfort level, the Universe is going to shift. Why? Because that is a constant, ongoing event. The continual movement of the planets, the stars, the Earth and sun and moon and the energy involved in ALL of creation means that there is no stagnant point at which anything can rest or sit still.
So, we must have a fluid understanding of what that means for our spiritual life, NOW…and NOW…and NOW. The good news is that the resting point deepens as we do this work. I am far more spiritually aware and connected than I was an hour ago. Why? Because I have lived another hour and done my work this morning to connect with the Power that has served me so well in this place.
Just as I wrote that last paragraph, we passed through the end-stages of a solar eclipse. So, you see, we need to know that this is an ongoing, always shifting situation.
Therefore, our lives, our minds, our hearts and everything we know is fluid, shifting, changing, becoming and leaving. If our spiritual practice is not strong, we are in danger of letting ego run the show. PSM are going to be in charge! I don’t know about you, but this is the thing I most want to avoid and disallow. Therefore, I will step into the next level of work, take another breath and sit quietly to find the Source. The truth is, I do not wish for my spiritual life to be stagnant or consistent. I find that the search, the conversations around the search, and the deepening I experience in this thing are the greatest pieces of my life.
Let me see if I can more thoroughly express that. In the past month, in the past 3 months, in the past 6 months, in the past year, in the past 5 years, in the past 10 years, in the past 15 years, etc. I have deepened and expanded my spiritual practice. I have learned and grown and rooted more firmly in the conviction and commitment I made in 1986 to do this thing, one day at a time, for the rest of my life. I really did not expect it to last as long as it has, but I am grateful for the day-to-dayness of it all. Why? Because, I cannot live today with the spiritual connection I had in 1986 or 1987. It had to grow. It has been like a tree that I planted, not knowing what kind of root strength was going on while I watered the parts of the tree I could see.
I can feel and recognize the awareness and heart growth in the last week, the last month, the last 3 months, etc. My tree has grown, and its shade keeps me cool in the summer and its bare branches delight me in the spring when it sprouts new growth. It now houses life other than itself…birds and all kinds of critters who inhabit trees. This is wonderful!
So, I see my spiritual life as an organic, breathing, alive and growing thing. It is! I am! I love this! And all I did was come here to hope.
Dolphin Hug 