COURAGE MONTH: DAY 9: “Real change is difficult at the beginning, but gorgeous at the end. Change begins the moment you get the courage and step outside your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.” ― Roy T. Bennett
Step 8, for me, was the one that kicked my butt the first time through the steps. It was a make-it-or-break-it point for me. Not sure why, but making that commitment to DO Step 9, and being willing, was a turning point. I did not know it at the time. I just knew I wanted to keep being on this path. It was paying off for me in ways I did not fathom when I began.
Which is really good, because that sense of possibility kept me focused on doing this thoroughly and well.
Again, I want to reiterate my experience in CHANGE. It is NOT difficult, never hard, never challenging. It IS new and different, unusual (for us), and many times uncomfortable. As we begin to shift our thinking away from our own stuff, we can see the benefit in treating others with more respect and thoughtfulness. We are so damned self-centered and selfish and arrogant that we need to get some kind of balance into our lives and clean up the messes we have made with others.
This preparation is crucial, because we cannot talk about it, or think about it. It is a step we must DO. Action is the only thing that works here. And we have to get past the bullshit story we tell ourselves about how “hard” or “difficult” it is. The only painful thing about change is how hard we resist it. Hanging on to old ideas and blaming others for the way we have been assholes is never going to create a new way of thinking.
Recovery is about seeing life differently. We will behave better when we believe better. When we see life through that new lens, we will see we are the problem. Always have been, always will be. Which is good news really. We CAN change US, but never THEM. Yay!
Dolphin Hug 