DEFEAT
What is defeat?....Nothing but the first step to something better - Wendell Phillips
I think it's really hard for people to admit defeat....I know it was for me. And I didn't necessarily like that word "defeat"....it made me feel like I was "losing in a game", and me being the extremely competitive person that I am, that word defeat just didn't sit well with me. What I like to say is "surrender".....getting to the point of complete and total surrender to this disease, that's the first part of recovery. Once I surrendered to my alcoholism, I felt the biggest weight lifted from my shoulders. I've got a long way to go in my recovery, but I'll never forget the day I finally surrendered and asked for some help....12/16/09.
What are some of your thoughts/feelings/stories about defeat or surrender?
Annette Guest posting for Emily
Hi, Annette --
ReplyDeleteI like this posting, and it brings to mind a question I have for you and Emily and anyone else who has input:
What does "sobriety" mean exactly? I always thought it meant not drinking. A friend was explaining to me that sobriety and abstinence are not the same thing, and I'm not sure I get it exactly.
Thanks --
NS-Anon
P.S. (Annette, I sent Emily my e-mail address and asked her to pass it on to you.)
Hey Annette,
ReplyDeleteDefeat to me was a swear word, an insult, a status in life I never wanted to hold. I would be a failure which is utterly unacceptable.
In reality it was the release from my self imposed prision, one I didn't even know I had created.
Submission was my first Action of my new life.
Sobriety to me does include not drinking but it's living a life with rigorous honesty, living for God's purpose not mine, being aware of my actions/reactions ....basically living with Serenity, Wisdom and Courage.
I didn't get it at first either....I thought sobriety was just not drinking/drugging. I soon learned that drinking was just one of the symptoms of alcoholism. Sobriety to me is not drinking and/or drugging, but also it is me being myself, doing the next right thing in all aspects of my life, talking to God on a regular basis and following His will as opposed to my own will, listening - I mean REALLY listening - to others, loving with all of my heart, being honest, having total self-respect for myself and my body, loving myself for who I am.....that is what sobriety means to me. Hope this helps :)
ReplyDelete