The Buddha was asked, “Where do our (fearful) thoughts come from?” He replied, “you are shot with an arrow, you have an arrow in your body but before you remove it from your body you need to know the particulars: who shot it, why did they shoot it or where did it come from?” We … Read more
Shun idleness. It is the rust that attaches itself to the most brilliant metals. — Voltaire I have heard it said that “we are either moving forward or moving backwards”. “We are moving away from a drink or towards a drink”. In life remaining stagnant is not necessarily the best plan. My late mentor and friend … Read more
“I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” — Albert Einstein One of the reasons addictions counselors and treatment providers fail so miserably is simple, they “TELL” people what to do and push them into the box that they have outlined. No where under any conditions … Read more
Living, Loving, Learning, One Day at a Time. The three “L’s” how we experience life is important in our recovery journey. If we take ourselves too seriously we will beat ourselves to death when we fail. When we Live our lives in a Loving way we ensure that we are Learning as we go. Early … Read more
Addiction is an every-day battle. Mornings are struggles to wake up, nights are long and fitful. Mantras against substance abuse become the only words in the internal vocabulary. Recovering from addiction is as much a state of being as the addiction process itself. Many people have only those in support groups to help them through … Read more
“When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time.” – St. Francis de Sales Addiction and alcoholism are filled with contradictions. I remember when I first went to rehab the definition of alcoholism encompassing the term “Progressive”. In my mind at the time progressive meant … Read more
“My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand.” — Thich Nhat Hanh When I started to Blog I had no idea what I was doing. I was given instructions on how to build an audience, how to rank on … Read more
“Make an effort to not blame anybody or anything – and you’re rewarded with much happiness!” —Arne Klingenberg The “Blame Game” is a dilemma we all face. When something goes wrong in our lives we always want to look at “Why” it failed. If we do not do so we will not change our strategy. … Read more
“One word frees us from the weight and pain of life; that word is love.” –Sophocles Recently, I met with a person that was sharing about his divorce and he said “my wife didn’t know how to love me”. I was reading a short paper on love and fear just a few days prior. The … Read more
“Nothing is good or bad but by comparison.” – Thomas Fuller It says in 1 Corinthians 10:23; Everything is lawful, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is lawful, but not everything builds others up. 10:24; Do not seek your own good, but the good of the other person. I do my best to stay focused … Read more