GRATITUDE MONTH: DAY 7: “Dance. Smile. Giggle. Marvel. TRUST. HOPE. LOVE. WISH. BELIEVE. Most of all, enjoy every moment of the journey, and appreciate where you are at this moment instead of always focusing on how far you have to go.”― Mandy Hale
Isn’t this what we all got to recovery for? To be happy and enjoying life? It is for me. I remember sitting in a meeting at the recovery home where I got sober and listening to two men who were sitting in front of me. One of them was an alumnus of that recovery home and the other was his friend. They both had about a year sober.
One was telling the other his tale of woe and whining (A lot!) about everything he spoke of. The other was trying to best him at how miserable he was. They said something to me a few minutes later and I just told them that if what they had was recovery, I would rather be loaded. I meant it too. I work very hard to not whine or complain since that day.
I may express that I am feeling fear or sadness or anger or pain, but I want to always be in the space of working to see what I believe about my life that is causing these feelings. It is only my beliefs about what is happening that creates these things for me.
So, I want to be like Ms. Hale and appreciate ALL of life. It is short enough that I don’t want to waste my moments of it in those feelings. So far, I get to see that the only thing that creates anger and sadness and pain for me is my resistance (EGO!) to life. It is not what I had planned, so I resist, and the pain ensues. OH! Like I know how to plan things anyway. Really? Evidence suggests that I do not know a single thing about how to create a good life for myself.
My ideas of the perfect life are these: Continuous acclaim and recognition (EGO), tons of money (EGO), love and adoration from a host of men (OMG!), and the ability to never age (EGO up the wazoo!), as well as the ability to eat the Universe and never gain weight or have consequences if that means 5 pounds of candy and sugar! LOL!
So, you can see what my ideas for the perfect life are. I am so grateful that there are consequences to what I do and how I live. I am grateful that I am aging and becoming a crone, even though I cringe at that word sometimes. I am grateful that I have perfect autonomy and walk through this world with a host of friends who bring me mirrors of myself. They save my butt more than I care to acknowledge. I am grateful that almost every day I have the gift of TRUST, HOPE, LOVE, WISH AND BELIEVE. I enjoy each moment when I am out of Ego and living in my heart. And I DO dance, smile, giggle and marvel almost all the time. What a great life this is!
Dolphin Hug 