“God handed me the menu. He didn’t tell me to choose the wrong sandwich.”
This quote seemed appropriate for the New Year because it reminds me that in recovery, with a relationship with a Higher Power, I have a world of opportunities open to me. In meetings every week I hear others share about going back to school, or changing careers, or starting a family - all miracles of recovery and all a part of the new life available through the program. This quote also reminds me that while there are many new and wondrous opportunities available, it is still up to me to choose the right path. Do I choose to work my program today, to turn my will and my life over and pray for and try to do God’s will? Or do I stay isolated, not go to a meeting, drink too much coffee and spend my time regretting the past and fearing the future? What do I do with the menu God gives me each day?
As I look towards the New Year ahead, I have an overwhelming feeling of possibility and hope as I acknowledge with gratitude the new menu of life I’ve been given in recovery. I make resolutions to make better choices, and I ask God to guide me and to release me from the character defects that lead me to reach for the wrong kind of sandwich. Today I will use my power of choice to make this year the best one yet.
“R&R stands for rest and relaxation, not rehearse and rehash!”
“If only my mind would leave me alone,” I often think. I have what I call a “digging mind.” Like a dog at the beach, it digs and digs and digs in a problem, a worry, or in some other imagined potential problem area or scenario often without my approval or awareness. It loves to uncover negative thoughts, feelings and fears, and then rehearse these ugly scenarios, or rehash problems of old. My digging mind is not only relentless, but it is consistently negative as well. I never find that it is digging in a positive or hopeful place. I can’t recall it dwelling on or digging in the hole of getting that great job, or relationship, or winning the lotto, or of having things work out. No, driven by a hundred forms of self-centered fear, it searches the beaches of disappointment and failure, and digs away.
R&R always meant physical relaxation to me. It wasn’t until I heard this saying that I thought to give my digging mind a break as well. In fact, before this saying I didn’t realize how active my mind stayed when I did try to rest and relax. Today I realize the importance of reigning in my digging mind and allowing (sometimes forcing) it to release and relax as well. Giving myself a break - a total break - provides me with the renewal and space I need to let the love and light of my Higher Power in. Today, I’ve learned how to truly rest and relax.
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