Rusty Tools and WD40

It's been a while since I've been here... blogging in the ether... but it's been for a good cause. I have been working hard on finishing my book. I had no idea just how difficult it would be to write an entire book that makes sense and has a beginning... a middle... and, of course, an end. Now that I am nearing completion I must say that I am proud that I will be finished with the final editing within a few months.

In the interim we have all grown... lived our lives... confronted our issues and become a greater part of the recovery community. There have been ups and downs... all relationships have times when we feel stuck... but we drag out the old tools... clean off the rust and begin using them once again.

Even if our tools have become so rusty that we have forgotten what to do with them, we can soak them in a bit of WD40 overnight and get them lubricated and moving once again. How do we do that? We pull out our old recovery materials and reread the pieces that have meaning to us in the present. Maybe we are dealing with frustration ~ this book is taking me forever ~ or anger ~ another day of writer's block... ugh! Regardless, we have tools to get us through those times when our emotions are screaming that we are overwhelmed and our head is telling us to take a time out and practice self care.

No matter how long we have been in recovery... days, weeks, months or even years... it makes no difference. We can become overwhelmed in a matter of moments and forget our tools. We need only to be reminded that they are always there waiting for us to take them out of the tool bag and put them to good use!!

Weekends

Weekends are typically the time when we enjoy our families and friends, taking a break from the everyday routine of life. Why then do so many of us spend our weekends feeling blue. Is it that we feel lonely? Do we not know who we are without the role we wear at our job? Are we stuck in a role at home which no longer serves our needs? Do we know what we want? Do we know how to be happy? Have we forgotten how to experience joy? Spending some time alone pondering these types of questions can lead us to experience much tension and stress. If we peel off all the roles we have in life: child, parent, sibling, co-worker, spouse, friend, lover, boss, etc. , who are WE? Who is the person underneath all the roles? Have we lost touch with the human being? How do we go about finding ourselves once again? How do we get back in touch with the person inside? Sometimes life throws us a curve ball and we are awakened from our slumber. Sometimes we decide that feeling numb is no longer how we want to live out our lives. Sometimes we experience a loss that forces our hand. Either way, the time has come to uncover ourselves and find our who we are and what we want. Tools are the way to accomplish this task. Finding ourselves among the roles isn't as hard as we thought when we have a guide to show us the way.