We ALL have our mountains to climb. It is all just part of life. You get used to accepting the reality of that after a while. There will ALWAYS be some sort of (what I call) 'north face' to deal with. It's just the aspect of the north face changes from year to year. sometimes its work, sometimes its relationship, sometimes its spiritual growth, sometimes its about where we live, sometimes it's the way we relate to AA, or the programme of AA. It's always something!
Once you get used to the idea that there will ALWAYS be challenging and confronting work to do, it makes it easier to try to enjoy the journey by doing stuff to make it fun. What I mean is once you get used to the idea that we are never 'cured' of the difficulties of life, you stop resenting it, and learn to try to enjoy the bittersweet journey.
It is always possible to access joyful mind states if we have wholesome things in our lives. good people, good spiritual practice, and ANYTHING that makes us feel good to be alive. Just looking at a flower will bring up feelings of joy. The trick is incorporating these aspects into our lives, to work against the necessary challenges we have to make in order to move forwards in our lives. We cant just do 'serious' growth work all the time. We'd drive ourselves mad if we did! We have to have SOME fun. There's a lot of mucky work to do, so if we don't experience real joy in some form or other, the task will become overwhelming. So eating well, exercise, and rest, and fun stuff are vital in order to keep yourself going.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata
The reason I mention this is because some people think that when things are going 'wrong' that this means that they are 'off course'. They aren't. (Well sometimes they are, but that's another story!) But usually it is just your 'next lesson' in life. No you are NOT mad, 'wrong', about to drink, etc etc. you are just human and these are LIFE LESSONS. And no amount of attendance in AA meetings will make them disappear!!!
This is what being a human being is all about! Its a LEARNING PROCESS! And the lessons can often feel very personal. That's probably because they are! There is NOTHING wrong with this.
When you are REALLY new, the lessons can sometimes be very obvious and easy to fix, but that's what sponsors are for. After step 9, they can be a little bit more perplexing to solve! But that's life! Its just the deal with being a human being. Nothing to be concerned about. What I mean is that the 'North face' is NO BIG DEAL. It is NOT necessary to have an ANXIOUS relationship towards it. You can be accepting and peaceful about the 'north face'.
(I might add, if you feel like crap but you have not done the first 9 steps, or have a sponsor, or go to meetings, then the reason you feel lousy is because you are not working the programme!!!! This post addresses those who ARE following AA suggestions, but think they are getting it wrong because they experience difficulty sometimes.)
Right I'm off to the gym then library!! I am skiving by going online!! I shouldn't really be posting! Nice to see you all and thank you for your kind and supportive comments!
About Me
- An Irish Friend of Bill
- I have recovered from the disease of Alcoholism. I believe there is only one person really,.. everybody. And that peace of mind is everything. -So treat your neighbor as you would treat yourself, because your neighbor IS yourself. I think most of recovery is what I would call common sense, but that learning to be ordinary is a true gift very few people acquire. My ambition is to accept everything unflinchingly, with compassion, and therefore be intrinsically comfortable in my own skin, no matter what. I am comfortable being uncomfortable and am willing to go to any lengths to improve my life. I believe the Big Book was divinely inspired, and is extraordinarily powerful. Unfortunately AA's best kept secret a lot of the time. (In my opinion). I just try to do what works, no matter what it is.
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9 comments:
Lovely to see you back again.
"(I might add, if you feel like crap but you have not done the first 9 steps, or have a sponsor, or go to meetings, then the reason you feel lousy is because you are not working the programme!!!! This post addresses those who ARE following AA suggestions, but think they are getting it wrong because they experience difficulty sometimes.)"
...just about sums it up!
Welcome back. I love this concept of "the North Face." Thanks for sharing and happy days. There's half foot of snow here.
I'm learning, I'm learning...
My journey to recovery is a long and windy road and I still got a lot to learn. I'm still learning.
Thank you for sharing.
Wonderful to see you post...I just "eat it up"!! What a great way to give us all assurance when we struggle. The North Face, I love it.
great post!
Yes! This woman who spoke at Crown City last Friday was talking about she again was exposed to a new spiritual growth opportunity. Of course the way she said it was with humor. It is never ending while we are here, and I enjoy how you shed light onto it all.
Glad to see you post.
Eyes ok. Date ok. Hope you're well today.
:-)
You never fully recover. You need to re-think that one and keep you advice on a shorter chain.
thank you, for you comment and mindful guidance. I will take it in, and take in some more. You know that my spiritual path strives to follow something similar to your own, so I am always grateful for your experience strength and hope.
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