Hi everyone, this week we read up to pg 170 There's more that we learn... we talked about renunciation and the freedom you can find in discipline and in restricting ourselves. A lot of the discussion was about food cravings and how we deal with them.
Here's this week's thought to consider: "True sobriety ...is not ordinary life with the drugs and alcohol cut out. It's a new way of living, of relating to ourselves and to the world." p167
How has this new way of life manifested for you in your recovery?
For me, it has shown up as a more social, involved and full life. I say yes today to things I had no interest in before, because I now say why not? and allow myself to be curious and to have a new experience rather than staying in my little bubble of misery and sameness, afraid to venture out and perhaps be disappointed or show that I'm not good at something. Now, my new way of relating to the world is to be open-minded and say yes and I'm grateful. THis new self-awareness serves me in many ways and allows me to serve others as well.
What about you?
I went ahead and read through pg 178, so I may be a bit ahead. But to the reading for the last couple weeks through Step 7, I, too, find myself working to be mindful of not replacing alcohol with other obsessive behaviors. It’s a constant reminder that I can have goals, but understand that it’s ok to sometimes be lazy without guilt. It’s that feeling as an example that if I have a piece of cake on a day I’ve committed to eat clean, it’s not a pass to throw in the towel for the full day and eat and eat more junk to the point I’m sick. That’s one example, but the old me could overdo across the board. Today in sobriety I’m finding it easier to take naps without guilt, to balance yes with no. It’s truly a challenge to find that balance between drive and acceptance of limits.