Category Archives: fun

Appalachian Trail

I was thinking about hiking the Appalachian trail. In the summertime there’s so much foliage that you can’t see more than just a few tens of feet. For most of the hike, there’s really not much  to see but leaves. But every now and then you come to an opening and you look out across the vista of the mountains and all kinds of peace and inspiration, and that’s why people hike the trail. They don’t do it just for the misery of going up and down mountains, they do it because every now and then you get that Easter egg that makes it all worthwhile.

It’s that way with recovery. Just as hikers, over time, learn the trails that work for them best – –  the ones that take them to the places they find most inspirational, so do people in recovery discover places to go, things to do, and ways to be that fit us as recovering people and make it more likely that we’ll run into those beautiful vistas from time to time. Not all the time, but it’s worth it when you find them.
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That’s why they call it “trudging the road of Happy destiny.”

Thought for the day: 02/04/2023

Each Step, first taken in our conscious minds, has to be absorbed to take hold. Absorption happens during rest and play. Some describe being kind to ourselves in thoughts and actions as reprogramming our subconscious minds. If we want the benefits of the work to last, we have to concede that (a) we can’t get it all done in one sitting, (b) we will never get it 100% right all of the time and (c) being gentle with ourselves is part of Healing. Sponsors tell us to go meditate on this fact because, after all, meditation comes so easily to restless addicts. Sponsors are such comedians.

C., Joe. Beyond Belief: Agnostic Musings for 12 Step Life (pp. 100-101). Rebellion Dogs Publishing.

Thought for the day — 12/07/2018

“The world is full of people looking for spectacular
happiness while they snub contentment.”
~ Doug Larson

Play: it ain’t necessarily what you think, either…

Susan Schroeder Arts

Play for its own sake is essential to most sentient beings. Animals and birds play. We don’t know what they get out of it, but we know that they seem to enjoy it — even seem to find it necessary. Kittens roll and tumble and chase their tails. Dogs chase sticks and frisbees. Birds play with balls and talk to themselves in mirrors. Otters slide down river banks, over and over again. Dolphins frolic just because they can.

Play, activity done just for its own sake, comes naturally to children. Small children spend hours pretending, playing make-believe with dolls and other toys, with or without fellow dreamers. When there are others, especially parents who can still play, tell stories and pretend — and who will take the time to do it — playtime becomes even richer. Continue reading