Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
Friends: We are re-sending the post from yesterday with re-sized graphics for easy viewing in email. I’ve often wondered what initiates the big changes we make in our lives. Is there something these game changing events have in common? As I’ve considered my own big changes, I notice a frequent theme — doubt. Do you remember the first time you entertained a serious doubt? Do … Continue reading Making Doubt Our Friend (Reformatted)
“If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together… there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart… I’ll always be with you.” ~ A. A. Milne, (Spoken by Winnie the Pooh). As I was getting my grandson Sam ready for bed … Continue reading Loving What’s Mortal
Once reality gets degraded, it’s really hard to get it back.” ~ Keith Darden Bamboozles are the ways we get comfortable with lies. They comfort us, conform to our prejudices and allow us to pretend we’re bigger, better, and prettier than we are. The writer Upton Sinclair described how some get bamboozled: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends … Continue reading The Great Bamboozle
Where are the Good Men? Charlie Brown has always been for me an illustration of goodness, a kind of compass that points to true north. Before I got sober, I sometimes felt like Alice in Wonderland when she slipped down the rabbit hole: reality no longer mattered, truth had become fiction, good people were now bad, heroes now villains. When I climbed out from my … Continue reading Finding Goodness
“Know thyself.” ~ Socrates In his book on emotional intelligence Daniel Goleman recounts the story of a belligerent samurai who challenges a Zen master to explain the concept of heaven and hell. “The monk replied to him with scorn, ‘You’re nothing but a lout – I can’t waste my time with the likes of you!’ “His very honor attacked, the samurai flew into a rage and, … Continue reading Emotional Intelligence