Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
(Please enjoy this post by my friend Joe, first written and published in 2013.) At the start of this semester, I asked my literature students to attend one academic presentation by mid-term, and write a two-paragraph response, reflecting on what they learned. They had plenty of choices. Faculty and guest lecturers present several talks each week. One of the most popular presentations was by two … Continue reading Zombies (by Joe)
I sat stunned in my rocking chair (yes, I sit in a chair and rock). The Chicago Cubs had won the World Series. “Cubs” and “World Series” is a non sequitur of the first order. And here I sat contemplating a world where the Chicago Cubs could win a World Series. After 108 years a groove sets in, a way of thinking, a default attitude. The … Continue reading A Program of Recovery: Chicago Cubs
Have you ever found yourself obsessing over some person, place or thing? Have you driven yourself to madness with the thought of losing an object of great desire? Have you acted in ways you can hardly describe from the madness of an obsession? Obsessions are not unusual occurrences to those of us in recovery, as we have all experienced the obsession of alcohol. Have we … Continue reading Recovery from Obsession
I recently came upon a troubling scene in a parking lot involving a mother and her two young children. As I was loading groceries into my car I witnessed the mother engaging in a violent and sustained tirade at her young son. I say sustained because whatever had set her off she could not turn off, and she went on and on, becoming ever more rage-filled. I … Continue reading Reaping the Whirlwind
Why is that we see so many around us eaten up by their own ambition? How is it that ambition can come to possess us as ferociously as any addiction? And finally, Why is it our ambition is so directly influenced by those with whom we associate? As a kid growing up, sports of all sorts captured the attention of me and all … Continue reading What I Learned from Making Coffee