In Between
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: FL
Posts: 698
In Between
Sometimes, to get from where we are to where we are going, we have to be willing to be in between.
One of the hardest parts of recovery is the concept of letting go of what is old and familiar, but what we don't want, and being willing to stand with our hands empty while we wait for God to fill them.
This may apply to feelings. We may have been full of hurt and anger. In some ways, these feelings may have become comfortably familiar. When we finally face and relinquish our grief, we may feel empty for a time. We are in between pain and the joy of serenity and acceptance.
Being in between can apply to relationships. To prepare ourselves for the new, we need to first let go of the old. This can be frightening. We may feel empty and lost for a time. We may feel all alone, wondering what is wrong with us for letting go of the proverbial bird in hand, when there is nothing in the bush.
Being in between can apply to many areas of life and recovery. We can be in between jobs, careers, homes, or goals. We can be in between behaviors as we let go of the old and are not certain what we will replace it with. This can apply to behaviors that have protected and served us well all of our life, such as caretaking and controlling.
We may have many feelings going on when we're in between: spurts of grief about what we have let go of or lost, and feelings of anxiety, fear, and apprehension about what's ahead. These are normal feelings for the in between place. Accept them. Feel them. Release them.
Being in between isn't fun, but it's necessary. It will not last forever. It may feel like we're standing still, but we're not. We're standing at the in between place. it's how we get from here to there. It is not the destination.
We are moving forward, even when we're in between.
Today, I will accept where I am as the ideal place for me to be. If I am in between, I will strive for the faith that this place is not without purpose, that it is moving me toward something good.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990, Hazelden Foundation.
One of the hardest parts of recovery is the concept of letting go of what is old and familiar, but what we don't want, and being willing to stand with our hands empty while we wait for God to fill them.
This may apply to feelings. We may have been full of hurt and anger. In some ways, these feelings may have become comfortably familiar. When we finally face and relinquish our grief, we may feel empty for a time. We are in between pain and the joy of serenity and acceptance.
Being in between can apply to relationships. To prepare ourselves for the new, we need to first let go of the old. This can be frightening. We may feel empty and lost for a time. We may feel all alone, wondering what is wrong with us for letting go of the proverbial bird in hand, when there is nothing in the bush.
Being in between can apply to many areas of life and recovery. We can be in between jobs, careers, homes, or goals. We can be in between behaviors as we let go of the old and are not certain what we will replace it with. This can apply to behaviors that have protected and served us well all of our life, such as caretaking and controlling.
We may have many feelings going on when we're in between: spurts of grief about what we have let go of or lost, and feelings of anxiety, fear, and apprehension about what's ahead. These are normal feelings for the in between place. Accept them. Feel them. Release them.
Being in between isn't fun, but it's necessary. It will not last forever. It may feel like we're standing still, but we're not. We're standing at the in between place. it's how we get from here to there. It is not the destination.
We are moving forward, even when we're in between.
Today, I will accept where I am as the ideal place for me to be. If I am in between, I will strive for the faith that this place is not without purpose, that it is moving me toward something good.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990, Hazelden Foundation.
Laozi Old Man
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Detroit, MI
Posts: 6,665
Originally Posted by Kathleen41 
Being in between isn't fun, but it's necessary. It will not last forever.
It may feel like we're standing still, but we're not. We're standing at the in between place. it's how we get from here to there. It is not the destination.
(Psalm 46:10)
"This to shall pass"
(Attar of Nishapur)
"Sought after virtue is not true virtue"
(Laozi)
"All expectations are seeds for resentment"
(Zhuangzi)
"Let It Be"
(Lennon & McCartney)
"If I keep on turning my life and my will over to the care of Something or Somebody else, what will become of me? I'll look like the hole in the doughnut."
(Tom Powers)
God's Kid
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 1,820
Cool thread
I'm experiencing a lapse in bad health for a condition I was diagnosed with when I was 8 years sober.
Yesterday I was thinking of something a recovery friend said to me a few months back about how being sober, at times, can be like living in a hall way. The hall way is a place where you wait. Not much happens in the hall way or so it appears and it also appears life is going on without you but then afterwards when you leave the hall way we see it was a time of spiritual growth.
Thanks for the reminder
Yesterday I was thinking of something a recovery friend said to me a few months back about how being sober, at times, can be like living in a hall way. The hall way is a place where you wait. Not much happens in the hall way or so it appears and it also appears life is going on without you but then afterwards when you leave the hall way we see it was a time of spiritual growth.
Thanks for the reminder
Laozi Old Man
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Detroit, MI
Posts: 6,665
Originally Posted by lizw
Not much happens in the hall way or so it appears and it also appears life is going on without you but then afterwards when you leave the hall way we see it was a time of spiritual growth.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Laconia
Posts: 813
"Great events will come to pass for you and countless others."
What I have experienced while trudging the destiny road is
sometimes when some great events are happening they don't
feel great at the time. But later, when I look back, I realize
that it was actually a great event.
What I have experienced while trudging the destiny road is
sometimes when some great events are happening they don't
feel great at the time. But later, when I look back, I realize
that it was actually a great event.
Laozi Old Man
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Detroit, MI
Posts: 6,665
Originally Posted by UncleMeat69
But later, when I look back, I realize
that it was actually a great event.
that it was actually a great event.
(page 100)
Trudger of Happy Destiny
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 1,918
WOW. Thank you for this amazing post, Kathleen. This is exactly where I am and what I needed to see. Thank you thank you thank you.
A lot of the time lately I feel this emptiness. And I struggle because all I want is to feel that connection with God. But when the rubber meets the road in pretty much all situations, I am whipped up into a frenzy. This makes me feel better that I am not alone, and is important to know that "this too shall pass" and it's not forever.
A lot of the time lately I feel this emptiness. And I struggle because all I want is to feel that connection with God. But when the rubber meets the road in pretty much all situations, I am whipped up into a frenzy. This makes me feel better that I am not alone, and is important to know that "this too shall pass" and it's not forever.
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