from Touchstones
Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin as self-neglecting. — William Shakespeare
An important part of our lives is simply tending to our basic needs—sitting down daily to share a meal with loved ones, getting enough sleep, setting time aside for haircuts and exercise, spending leisure time with friends. Paying attention to these things only when they become crises makes our lives unbalanced and crisis-oriented. Many men have neglected themselves because they felt it was the mark of a tough guy. Others have been so lost in an addiction or so codependent that a respectful, self-caring life was not possible.
As we regain our sanity, we find balance in the basics. Self-love allows us to be responsible for our care, and it puts us in a stronger position to help others, to be creative, and to assert our right to recovery.
Today, I will look after the essentials of my personal care and my family’s care before I take on other things.
From Answers in the Heart
Now, let the weeping cease; let no one mourn again. For the love of God will bring you peace. There is no end. — Sophocles
When we look back on our life, we may feel again the pain of how things used to be. But we know that our life doesn’t ever have to be as difficult as it once was. It never has to be as out of control, as unmanageable, as terrifying. It isn’t necessary for our sex addiction to haunt us at every turn. Time has moved on, as it must. The past is over and we’ve begun to know real safety.
Maybe we would have to abandon the program and our commitment to recovery for quite some time before we went back completely to how we acted and lived as practicing sex addicts. We may slip today or some day in the future; there are no promises of perfection. We can never forget that we’re sex addicts and only a decision away from acting out. But that’s different from going back to the beginning, before our new life. Each day we choose not to leave recovery strengthens our heart so that we no longer want to go back.
I will live One Day at a Time. I trust that I have all the time I need.
Daily Meditation Books
Answers in the Heart - daily meditations for people recovering from sex addiction
Touchstones - daily meditations for recovering men
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