Topic for the week: Embracing Endlessness
A paragraph came across my desk recently that caught my attention:
“Work is endless. Exercise is endless. Parenting is endless. Same with marriage, writing, investing, creating, and more. You get to choose the parts of your life, but many of the important things in life cannot be “finished.” Do not approach an endless game with a finite mindset. The objective is not to be done, but to settle into a daily lifestyle you can sustain and that allows you to make daily progress on the areas that matter. Embrace the fact that life is continual and look for ways to enjoy the daily practice.”
Before, during and after my drinking days, this reminded me of a defect that remains constant. I want to do the work in front of me today and finish it, once and for all! It’s been a lifelong struggle to accept that this is not reality. I cannot finish chores and tasks until they are permanently done, or learn all that I need to and be done, or do all the exercise I need and be done. One of my favorite comedienne / stress management gurus used to say, “when you’re dead, you’re done!”.
I got to thinking about how much this passage applies to my program. There are times when I am prone to engage in a self serving pity party about how hard life is and it seems that the work never ends. I spend time and energy wishing I could ‘finish’ all of the daily AA work that goes into this life of sobriety. I sometimes ask myself, isn’t it ever done?
Thankfully, I have come to understand that in fact the opposite is true. In order to remain sober, I need to make sure the ‘work’ is right there in front of me. It is the daily discomfort and subsequent progress that keeps me sober. Accepting this continuity of never ending work is crucial. I must turn my thinking around and realize that I ‘get to’ embrace the endlessness of the 12 steps and all that this demands of me – service, selflessness and an ongoing relationship with God. I can embrace that I ‘get to’ wake up sober today and look for ways to enjoy the daily practice instead of longing to be finished.
Please share any thoughts you have or strategies you use with the areas of your life that are endless!
Grateful Recovering Online Women