Today's Thought - June

[bluidkiti]

June 16

Some of us became lost in the labyrinth of substances, thinking they might provide the answers to our dilemmas. We often found despair and disappointment instead. The Eighth Step—“Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all”—became a road map for taking responsibility for those times when we were truly missing in action.

The inner pathfinder often summons us more with questions than answers, reminding us of the false summits and mirages that inevitably appear on any journey. Denial and escape are replaced by the more useful compass found in really listening to our heart. Experiencing a better, more authentic, more fulfilling life comes from asking ourselves some important questions about needs, desires, purpose, and happiness. And, with right timing, an adventure or pilgrimage can add its own truth to the garden of living a good life.

We are always—every one of us—coming together and falling apart at the same time. Searching and seeking always lead to victories and defeats, illumination, and further confusion. One day at a time, with each conscious step a liberating moment, we make progress.

I am learning that an apparently easy path can become a long and suffering way, and a roadblock to an opening into liberation.

Today's reading is from the book Cornerstones, Daily Meditations for the Journey into Manhood and Recovery