from Touchstones
To be happy one must risk unhappiness; to live fully one must risk death and accept its ultimate decision. — Judd Marmor
All of us, in confronting our powerlessness, have felt the truth of this paradox. If we truly admitted how far out of control our drinking was, would we be able to survive without alcohol? If we stopped caretaking, would we have any place in our relationships? If we let go of our food obsessions, would there be any pleasure left in life? Yet we can see much of our behavior was destroying us. We had to let go of it to begin learning a better way of living.
We can face our powerlessness in very specific ways. Let us look at today’s concerns as spiritual issues with lessons for us. Does an opportunity seem like a problem because of the risk involved? Are we frustrated because we cannot accept the limits of our control? We will face our powerlessness today in ways we cannot fully anticipate. When we are honest with ourselves and face it directly, we can take the risk of letting go.
Let me not be so tied to what I have or to what I want that I cannot lean on God’s love and take a risk for growth.
From Answers in the Heart
Most people write off their longing for friends and family as so many losses in their lives, when they should count the fact that their heart is able to long so hard and to love so much as among their greatest blessings. — Etty Hillesum
It was lonely being a practicing sex addict. When we were being sexual with someone else, we could push the truth away for a while in the high of the moment. But afterward, back in reality, the loneliness became even more devastating. We could pretend not to care, telling ourselves that we didn’t need people. But we knew we were lying. Connection, not disconnection, was what we longed for.
It’s possible to rebuild the connections we lost to our addiction. But even in recovery, the loneliness doesn’t go away immediately; it takes time. The more we reach out to people honestly, believing we are worthwhile and have something to give, the less lonely we feel. There’s a world out there, and we belong in it
Who am I lonely for? God? Myself? Other people? Once I answer that, I can do something about it.
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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