ARC: Changing Course

CHANGING COURSE

© 10/16/20 ARC

In recovery there is a brilliant metaphor:

describes recovery process in changing course.

Refers to usual route with deep hole in sidewalk:

intellect challenged to avoid requiring wise force.

My septuagenarian life witness to multi shifting:

relationships, careers, ideas, patterns of behavior.

`Serenity Prayer’ is famous for addressing pivotal times:

Presidential Medal of Freedom author Reinhold Niebuhr.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

courage to change the things I can, wisdom to know the difference.

Life is fraught with eclectic seasons of learning and growth:

education, positive role models needed to thwart off ignorance.

Oftentimes, influential are motivated by false gods:

power, money, in addition to seven deadly sins.

Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride:

guaranteed to weigh down where nobody wins.

Jewish teenager Anne Frank said it best:

paraphrased `people are really good at heart’.

I am beseeching all Republicans to vote blue:

epoch time in history salutes your renascent start.

###

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhold_Niebuhr

…

Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr^[a] (1892–1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of America's leading public intellectuals for several decades of the 20th century and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964. A public theologian, he wrote and spoke frequently about the intersection of religion, politics, and public policy, with his most influential books including Moral Man and Immoral Society and The Nature and Destiny of Man. The latter is ranked

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.^[1]

https://drchadcoren.com/drchadcoren/Dr._Chad_Corens_Blog__Bucks_County_Therapist,_Mental_Health_&_Addiction/Entries/2010/10/1_THERES_A_HOLE_IN_MY_SIDEWALK~a_poem_by_Portia_Nelson.html

THERE'S A HOLE IN MY SIDEWALK

~a poem by Portia Nelson

10/1/10

Nelson's poem is an incredibly powerful metaphor describing the change process that often occurs with addiction & recovery.

It begins with the denial of a problematic behavior followed by the growing awareness that continuing to engage in it will lead to the same negative result over and over again.

Accepting this unhealthy pattern then allows for triumph over it by making important changes to prevent it from happening again.

Chapter 1

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost… I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend that I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit … but, my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

Chapter 4

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

Chapter 5

I walk down another street.

THERE'S A HOLE IN MY SIDEWALK

~a poem by Portia Nelson

10/1/10

Nelson's poem is an incredibly powerful metaphor describing the change process that often occurs with addiction & recovery.

It begins with the denial of a problematic behavior followed by the growing awareness that continuing to engage in it will lead to the same negative result over and over again.

Accepting this unhealthy pattern then allows for triumph over it by making important changes to prevent it from happening again.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer

God, grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.^[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins

· 2.1Lust

· 2.2Gluttony

· 2.3Greed

· 2.4Sloth

· 2.5Wrath

· 2.6Envy

· 2.7Pride