“Never let life’s hardships disturb you…no one can avoid problems, not even saints or sages.”
– Nichiren Daishonin
Somehow early on in my life of recovery I began to think that if I was sober I somehow would avoid or totally eliminate problems in my life. I felt that if I was clean and sober the result should be total freedom from difficulty! As a matter of fact I used that presumption to relapse in the early years. I would blame my difficulties on God and say things like, “if this is what recovery is like I might as well be drunk”!
Of course I had no sponsor, I did not do service work, I went to meetings on my own terms… I had no idea what mutual support or the steps were all about. I thought I put the effort in, but in reality I was running the show and I was clueless!
True recovery is living “life on life’s terms”. Recognizing that life is filled with challenges. Especially when we create challenges by our actions, which by the way, I was extremely good at! Yet recovery allows us the opportunity to turn “challenges into championships”. To turn it all into something good!
Go, Go, Go…
Dan 🙂