Our culture seems to be having a love affair with zombies these days. Movies, games, TV and books are tripping over each other as they run to the undead, rather than away from them. But for people who have suffered addiction, the experience of staggering hopelessly through an all but lifeless existence is not quite the Hollywood romantic fairytale.
George Herrick
Poem: Secrets
This is reprinted from my 11/11/11 Newsletter:
It is afternoon break time and I’m sitting in the sunlight with a glass of acai juice, looking back through my journal. I don’t get to do this often enough, and today it seems especially enjoyable. A pleasant surprise shows up in the form of this touching little poem I wrote a few months ago and had forgotten about till now:
“We are the ones for whom we have been waiting.”
This quote from the Hopi Elders came to my mind as I was with a client, whom I’ll call Jane. Jane had been waiting most of her life – for the right time, the right job, the right man, the right pretty much everything. In the session, I asked her if she’d rather continue to wait for the right whatever or be happy. She responded rather indignantly, “Well how could I be happy with something that isn’t right, that isn’t the way it should be?” I said that is a great question, and the answer ought to come from her heart, not her head.
How Getting H.I.G.H.* Builds a Strong Recovery
(*H.I.G.H. = Honesty, Integrity, Gratitude, Humility)
Good, strong recovery from addictions and self-limiting habit patterns is built on four primary pillars:
- Honesty – tell the truth, without judgment or manipulation;
- Integrity – live your truth, be authentic to your deepest needs and highest aspirations;
- Gratitude – be thankful for the experiences, connections and opportunities in your life;
- Humility – be teachable… everything is a teacher; what can you learn from what you experience?
How to Invite Success Into Your Life
Success means something different to everyone. To some people it may mean financial wealth, to some it may mean having a loving family. Some people may define success as having good health and well-being, while others may say it is fame.
But whatever one’s personal definition of success is, at the heart of it we all seem to have one thing in common: when we feel fulfilled in a personally meaningful way, we consider ourselves successful. At the same time, we usually find that success tends to feel hollow or shallow unless it is in service to something greater than purely personal gain. Physical or mental success eventually fails us when we lack a spiritual connection to it.