Wednesday, April 09, 2014

how shall we live today? change is the only constant.

saw a very compassionate & knowledgable person today who gave me good, kindly advice as well as a questionnaire to fill out (i already did it cause i am kind of ocd) & then gifted me with a book this elderly man had written. i read a few pages and realized how vastly a person can change, not just in circumstance, but in character, when launched into & making true commitment to sobriety, be it emotional or from a physical addiction or addictive process... wow! this fellow had quite a hard, sad, even disturbing growing-up & adulthood, yet today sat there & gave me wise, kindly, polite, attentive witness during our session. he seems to have been transformed from his old ways of pain & suffering & was able to devote full attention to the moment, undistracted by any fear of the future or regret of the past...
i hope i can continue to grow up. the goal is to stay child-like, but be rid of childishness.
i know i am not a zen master nor ever will be a great spiritual leader -- not that i wish to be such. i do much better being part of a machine, particularly a well-oiled, well-functioning one. for instance, i loved being in the teachers' union, but resisted being groomed to "move up." i love being in meetings & soaking it up; i don't have to be in charge, nor should i try. 12 steppers are supposed to be democratic (not in the political sense, tho, y'know, since there are no affiliations of such in true 12 step recovery), & anyone who tries to take over or pontificate is violating that generous tradition. i love fronting a band, but i've also loved being part of the engine, supporting the front person. i know that will be my future as my physical body ages & my piano chops improve; it's quite an appealing dream...
 i just want to grow. as mud, who died w/52 yrs' sobriety in bakersfield/oildale, used to say, "keep me green so i may grow."
another: "i gotta grow or i gotta go."
man, i know "all that stuff" is just an arm's length away... i do NOT wanna go!
our neighbors suffered a terrible tragedy the other night, likely due at least indirectly to drugs/alcohol. i hate to say had i lived 80-90 yrs ago, i might've been a prohibitionist. i know i'm not supposed to vilify the institution of intoxication, but i can't seem to help it, more & more: too many of us humans, just wanting relief from pain, to be part of the herd, or to have fun, step, then stumble over the invisible line & ruin not just our own lives, but the lives of all who love us. yes, so much what-i-see-to-be unnecessary evil appears to stem from the seemingly basic desire to transcend & feel thrill... it's a sacred instinct, is what i think, that gets violated by the lure of booze, dope, bad habit, & other external, false gods... i am not giving up. i know i have that god-feeling within, w/o trying to induce it via poisons, be they substances or ideas from seemingly-innocuous to putrid & vile...
given that change is the only constant, that insanity is doing the same thing & expecting different results, that we only can control what lies within our own hula hoops, how shall we live today? shakyamuni buddha said/wrote we are here to live with ease & comfort; i like the idea, but all know also that "into each life, some rain must fall" etc. etc.
don't you wanna live, not merely exist? i do.
either way, it all won't last long....

1 comment:

jenny page said...

ps - the book is called branches from the willow tree and is by robert h. chapman, who is while i am here my counselor & who co-founded the men's stag meeting hoag's heroes in newport beach, in addition to many accomplishments & accolades in the recovery field. i'm almost done with the book -- it's compelling & poignant & one of the things i love about & so am so moved & inspired by is the author's deep sincerity & generosity of spirit... it's a quality i've gotten to witness many times in my life, usually in people who've been to hell & back. these people are my heroes & if i can be even a tiny bit like them someday, i will know i have lived well & for a reason.