Letting Go

[arieswoman]

I'd like to hear people's experiences with the concept of "letting go" or "surrendering", in their lives and in their recovery. It's difficult, and just when I thought I had gotten so good at it, now it seems I need to further let go. It's kind of scary. I guess I just need a little inspiration! Thanks!

[arieswoman]

Oops, sorry - if I had just scrolled down a little further, I would have seen the thread entitled, "thoughts on surrender"!!! Oh, well, if anyone has any addition thoughts on the subject, I'd be glad to hear them!

[AW2486]

Nice topic Aries..

Recently I had a lot of trouble letting go with the status of my job. It's been real slow.. and all the things that I work hard to keep arrested.. Fear, Resentment, and Self Pity were there every morning when I went to work. Turned into a terrible stretch of days. Zero peace of mind.

It came down to doing a lot of praying, off and on all day long, Turning it over and over and over and over. But I also had to take the action and try to be the best person I could be, in every situation. still not very good at it .. but somehow I continued to stumble in that direction.

It's still terribly slow at work. But I must have accepted it. It no longer sucks to be at work. And I actually got a compliment on my attitude today. Didn't expect it, kinda look at it as my HP telling me to keep it up.

Andy

[Tazman53]

I do not have 2 years yet, but I am finding already that the experience the old timers share holds true, the more I let go of, the better life gets, the easier it is to get through the hard times, when the caca hits the fan I have found that if I turn it over, the easier and quicker the problem comes to be resolved.

[Cathy31]

Originally Posted by Tazman53

I do not have 2 years yet, but I am finding already that the experience the old timers share holds true, the more I let go of, the better life gets, the easier it is to get through the hard times, when the caca hits the fan I have found that if I turn it over, the easier and quicker the problem comes to be resolved.

This is so true for me too...when I let go and let my HP take charge, the results are awesome!!!

[debs4321]

"Letting Go" is a daily process for me.

I find somethings are easy to "let go" of the others. Some tend to be harder.

It has all been a learning process.

I also find that when I finally do "let go", it becomes easier the next time.

I am not perfect.........I know this and sometimes I dont know what is best for me. Only God does. But, if I keep practicing the art of "Letting GO" of things that are no longer vital in my life. Then I will eventually be at peace with was is.

[Tazman53]

When I am feeling a bit like a mashocist I will hold on to something, I will try and excert my will, my power!!!! Once the pain is great enough using my will and my power, I find relief when I turn it over.

Sandy Beech says it so well......................... Drop the rock!!!!!!

[debs4321]

Hey Tazman53 or anyone................

Have you ever read the book "Drop the rock"
by Bill P. Todd W. Sara S.

It is awesome, and I highly recommend it.

[Tazman53]

No I haven't yet Deb, I have heard it is an awesome book, another one is "A New Pair Of Glasses" I have heard.

[debs4321]

I have heard of that one as well. Gosh I have so many books I am reading and not ever enough time to read them all. LOL

[RufusACanal]

Surrender and Joy in the Pursuit of Excellence Personal Development - The Urban Monk

Surrender and Joy in the Pursuit of Excellence Personal Development - The Urban Monk

[AW2486]

Originally Posted by Tazman53

another one is "A New Pair Of Glasses" I have heard.

If you have some time to read...

http://www.soberplace.com/chuckc/

[arieswoman]

AW2486 - thanks, that was quite an awesome reading!!!

Laurie

[Sugah]

For me, surrender means a lot of things. It's surrendering to the first step and my powerlessness, opening my mind to the second step and entertaining the idea that there's something bigger than me and my ego that can help me out, and of course, surrendering my will and my life.

I find a lot about surrender in the Serenity Prayer. It reminds me that surrender isn't just about accepting, but about being responsible when the willful part of me would rather turn my back and pretend that my responsibilities don't exist.

I'm all the time finding something in my life that helps me practice surrender! Don't beat yourself up. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Peace & Love,
Sugah

[miss communicat]

for me, living a surrendered life is both an ongoing (ODAAT) process and a state of mind.

I don't often use the jargon "letting go". The practice is more about acceptance.

(which is a whole nother discussion, because "acceptance" is not the same as passivity, either....)

[Signal30]

Remember, we spent the majority of our lives trying to do everything our way. Even with years of soberiety, it is common and easy to fall into old bad habits of trying to handle everything our way. It takes time, practice and repetition to break a an old hazardous cycle that we have been doing our whole lives.

One of the many reasons why AA works is because we share our problems to others, so we can get feedback to see if we are really letting it go to God or if we may be still holding on. I often get frustrated when things aren't going the way I THINK they should be going, and often need to stop and reflect, only to find out that I only selectively turn things over to God.

We as alcoholics have always had trust issues. It is hard to trust aka have faith in a Higher Power we cannot see or touch. But we can talk to God, and God does talk back. God's voice and language is spoken through actions, situations, and events. An example...


Lately I've had a lot of anxiety over my upcoming wedding and some other events in my life. On July 27th I was on my knees before I went to bed to pray. When I pray I read the Reflection For The Day in the One Day At A time Book. I read a reflection and prayer on defiance to turn things over to my Higher Power. After reading and praying I was happy to read a prayer that was what I needed to hear and was explaining my recent thoughts and actions to a tee.


Then I realized something...


I read the wrong day. I meant to read July 27th's reflection, but I read Auguest 27th's reflection. Was it a mistake I made, or was it God making sure I read something because of my recent feelings and actions? Was God talking to me?

I see signs in my life, big and small, as words of God. As time goes by I am learning to listen better so I may know God is trying to tell me something.

Faith is spiritually fancy word for trust. A common shortcoming of us alcoholics is that we don't want trust anybody, including ourselves. It is important to trust God, I'm getting better at it, but I still have some progress to make.



Tom

[Sheryl85]

Like everything else in the Program, this takes practice. In the meantime if you find out you can't entirely let go, try holding on a little looser . . .