HOPE MONTH: DAY 4: “Even in the mud and scum of things, something always, always sings.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson
A few times in my life of recovery, I have felt hopeless…completely done in. I was, of course, so incredibly self-centered that I could not see beyond my own nose. That is the real truth about feeling so down. I cannot do that if I think for even one second about someone or something else that is good and wonderful in the world.
My periods of deep and dark hopelessness only came upon me when I was so stuck in the mud and scum of total self-obsession. This is the problem. Not that life is hopeless, but that I cannot see or think beyond the end of my own nose.
When we shift our attention away from self and Ego, we can see the sun shining, or the rain falling, or even snow and see the beauty and miracles of life around us. That destroys our lack of hope. The best medicine I know of is to take a walk in Nature when all is gloom and doom. It always works…always. I cannot feel the earth beneath my feet or hear a bird sing and feel miserable. It just is not possible. It never has been and never will be.
Morbid self-reflection, like the BB calls it, is a total waste of time. And yet, so many addicts are stuck in a pattern of just that. They believe the world is “doing them wrong” and that Universal Power is punishing them for something. How self-absorbed can you get? Yikes!
So get up off that pity pot and go for a walk. See who or what is singing. It might be a bird or an eagle or a happy person who is doing something constructive for someone other than themselves. We all sing a lot more when we are doing that!
Dolphin Hug 