Light Up Your Life
"It doesn't matter how long we may have been stuck in a sense of our limitations. If we go into a darkened room and turn on the light, it doesn't matter if the room has been dark for a day, a week, or ten thousand years - we turn on the light and it is illuminated. Once we control our capacity for love and happiness, the light has been turned on." - Sharon Salzberg
Addictions limit us in so many ways. They stunt our growth as human beings and they halt all progress in our lives. The further my recovery advances, the clearer it is becoming that gambling, drugs, booze and smokes are not the only addictions we have to deal with. For most of us we are addicted to the majority of our daily rituals. Ever notice all those people lining up at Tim's every morning, being late for work doesn't matter, they have to get their fix.
Our spouses, our children, our friends, our fellow workers, everyone has an addiction to something. Okay, so for them they are just innocent habits, try getting them to quit these innocent habits. My addiction has kept me in the dark for at least the past ten years, however my innocent habits have kept me in the dark for the past thirty years. The funny thing is that most of my innocent habits annoy the heck out of other people, yet no one said a word about them. It has been my journey to change my life as it has been for the past fifty years that has gotten my attention. While dealing with each of my character defects, I began noticing how people reacted to me both with and without the defect. The expression on their face or their mannerisms in general told the entire story.
Most of us have lived in the dark for a week, a month or for many years. We harbour resentments, we hold grudges, we envy others, we are hypocritical, we manipulate, we lie, we love without seeing the beauty and we see the beauty without loving it. Our lives are spent on a ferris wheel, going around and around, but never stopping and getting off.
If for just one day, we could turn our entire lives over to love, unconditional love. If for just one day, we could look at each other and not see the past. If for just one day, we could turn on the lights, see our own beauty and see the beauty in others. Every person, young and old, rich and poor, big and small, has their own inner beauty, all we need to do is help them turn on the light.
Addictions limit us in so many ways. They stunt our growth as human beings and they halt all progress in our lives. The further my recovery advances, the clearer it is becoming that gambling, drugs, booze and smokes are not the only addictions we have to deal with. For most of us we are addicted to the majority of our daily rituals. Ever notice all those people lining up at Tim's every morning, being late for work doesn't matter, they have to get their fix.
Our spouses, our children, our friends, our fellow workers, everyone has an addiction to something. Okay, so for them they are just innocent habits, try getting them to quit these innocent habits. My addiction has kept me in the dark for at least the past ten years, however my innocent habits have kept me in the dark for the past thirty years. The funny thing is that most of my innocent habits annoy the heck out of other people, yet no one said a word about them. It has been my journey to change my life as it has been for the past fifty years that has gotten my attention. While dealing with each of my character defects, I began noticing how people reacted to me both with and without the defect. The expression on their face or their mannerisms in general told the entire story.
Most of us have lived in the dark for a week, a month or for many years. We harbour resentments, we hold grudges, we envy others, we are hypocritical, we manipulate, we lie, we love without seeing the beauty and we see the beauty without loving it. Our lives are spent on a ferris wheel, going around and around, but never stopping and getting off.
If for just one day, we could turn our entire lives over to love, unconditional love. If for just one day, we could look at each other and not see the past. If for just one day, we could turn on the lights, see our own beauty and see the beauty in others. Every person, young and old, rich and poor, big and small, has their own inner beauty, all we need to do is help them turn on the light.
posted by Taximan at 9:46 AM
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