The Boat

December 5

THE BOAT

On my ride home from work there is a boat stuck between two trees in the middle of a horse pasture next to a riverbed so dry it's filled with grass.  I think the boat is me.  I feel for the boat every time I see it.  Turned on edge, waiting for a river, which doesn't exist anymore and may never exist again.  Placed on edge for protection, not comfort. Although having my bottom rot out, well, let's just say might be more uncomfortable.  What good will I be even if the river runs again since I'm fenced in?  My sponsor says I shouldn't ask any question which starts with the word 'why'.  You know my reply.

If my Higher Power has a plan...if it includes a river and a fence…  if I'm in this plan, me, the rowboat…I just don't see it.  Not seeing my purpose in life is a theme in my life says my sponsor.  I don't tell her the theme in hers.

Truth is, I don't want to face the fact I might float away. Even though I'm supported by two big trees.  Even though there is a tall fence all around me.  Completely in spite of the fact THERE IS NO WATER!  My Higher Power loves me.  I am the boat.

Enjoy the flowers and slide on the snow.

*

It All Points to Joy

Can Love reweave the fabric which hate destroys?

Can Kindness resew the field

torn through with disregard?

Can Beauty paint the world anew

after so much ugliness has rained down upon us?

My heart believes these three cannot fail

to make things right

for what other point could there be than Joy?

Vlog: http://youtu.be/chEY7foQ0Eo

You are reading selections from Sober on the Way to Sane and More Lines From My Life by Sherrie Theriault

http://www.amazon.com/Sober-On-The-Way-Sane/dp/1440417342/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388576888&sr=8-1&keywords=sober+on+the+way+to+sane

http://www.amazon.com/More-Lines-From-My-Life/dp/1448677203/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388576956&sr=8-1&keywords=More+Lines+From+My+Life

Moat

March 6

MOAT

I dug the moat; the alligators came on their own.  The rain fell; I did not bid it.  I’ve burned all the bridges.  I’ve sold the farm.  I wonder at the company I keep.  The birds fly in; some stay for a season.  Friends used to wave as they passed.  Now my island is overgrown; I stand to my chin in the tall grass.  I guess it’s a matter of maintenance.  What I don’t keep pruned grows back.  The connections I don’t secure weaken and fail.  I am subject to all that falls if I don’t keep my roof.  The wind chaps me without the walls of my home.  No clothes, I burn.  No joy and all I do is cry.  It takes more than a continuous ditch to protect my heart.  More than water and reptiles to safeguard my soul.

Memorize an affirmation for a pet.

*

What and When, When and How……and Why

Arriving at the place where I have nothing to prove,

afforded me the luxury of not having to proclaim

the amount of time I have, when I share in a meeting.

Taking the score keeping out of the equation

I was then able to think of what it was

that motivated me to speak in a meeting.

Self-Possession, a great gift to inhabit,

a greater gift to demonstrate;

quiet dignity is a real favorite of mine.

If I am calm yet in control,

if there is time, if there is a lull,

I can share parts of my experience.

If I have chaos, an agenda, a theory, a grudge

it is all better left unsaid in the meeting

and saved for the less vulnerable ear of my sponsor.

For if I am wrong I might persuade in error

and if I am right I might convert in righteousness.

Why is it that what I never say

rings louder than anything I do?

You are reading selections from Sober on the Way to Sane and More Lines From My Life by Sherrie Theriault

http://www.amazon.com/Sober-On-The-Way-Sane/dp/1440417342/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388576888&sr=8-1&keywords=sober+on+the+way+to+sane

http://www.amazon.com/More-Lines-From-My-Life/dp/1448677203/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388576956&sr=8-1&keywords=More+Lines+From+My+Life