Pax

One thing I keep thinking as I read posts, including several that mention collections of, what, drink paraphernalia? is that thoughts arise from all sorts of places--the Buddhists have a lot of useful things to say about this if you start looking--if you're Christian or whatever, think of them as Psychologists with a 2500 yr patient history. What I'm personally trying to do is catch myself as early as possible when a thought arises and then act upon doing the right thing, immediately. If I hear a little voice in my head saying, "You're acting like a jerk." I stop acting like a jerk, apologize, and then either work it out or make an appointment to do so.

Leaving things lying around, stein collections, my bottle of Evil Pills that I still have to take for some months (benzo withdrawal schedule), things that upset, stress or depress me--I find placing these things somewhere out of sight simply helps make things easier not to get caught in one of those blasted downward spirals of thought that can often lead to giving into physical addiction or, imho, worse, cruel psychological actions such as lashing out because I feel, physically, miserable and over-sensitive.

I'm trying to maintain a realistic view of where I am physically and psychologically and go from there. I'm not wishing the world were different, I'm not focusing on past mistakes I cannot change (other than doing what I can to make them right, but some of that's a lifetime of patience and unilateral love, honestly). What I am doing is, "Here I am, where do I want to go, what would make that easier." And we all need to do everything we can to make these journeys easier, God knows they're hard enough. There's far more involved than "easier," of course, but that seems to be an issue many, including I, am ignoring.

Actively find some peace where you may. Find the wise things that people have thought for thousands of years and identify those things that resonate with you. May you all discover beautiful lives.