FanStory.com - A Gift To Selfby William Stephenson1
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Learning what is important and what is important really.
A Gift To Self by William Stephenson1
Free Form Poetry Contest contest entry

 

Everybody knows

that winning is everything.

In recovery, one is asked,

“Do you want to live and be free?

Really?”

The Shakers sing,

“’Tis a gift to be simple

‘tis a gift to be free.”

What the Shakers sing,

“To bow and bend…”

Whether I am on the winning side

or on the losing side

of any “contest.”

As I come to a change in my life

I see that many men and women

are turning to a simpler life.

Discovering that having more

does not achieve more

happiness and security.

They are

Simplifying their “wanters,”

rearranging their values and priorities,

letting go of their differences and divisions,

“Coming down where they ought to be.”

People in recovery

remind me

that when we exalt ourselves

we break harmony with God’s creation.

On this day of reflection,

the gift I give myself is

to live more simply.

To have the courage to trust.

To believe that my life is good just as it is.

To trust that God’s grace is sufficient for me.

To trust that life is buoyant

and there is something surrounding me,

holding me up.

So that I can

“Go and come down in this world

where I ought to be…”

Trusting grace,

as a bird trusts the air.

Trusting

in God’s grace that way

may not make me feel safer,

but I’ll be freer.

I will be on the way to wholeness…

To recovery.

 


Author Notes
Recovery is not just for those who suffer from chemical abuse. It can also apply to destructive relationships, feeling caught in a job you judge you cannot escape, and the almost impossible task of forgiving oneself. All of these are but illusions. What a wonderful gift is waiting to be opened.
The gift to self.

     

© Copyright 2024. William Stephenson1 All rights reserved.
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