Halloween

October 31

Halloween

“Why does self-centered fear wear a costume that looks so much like ‘other people’s opinion’?” I asked my sponsor.

“For the same reason that booze masquerades as ‘a good time.’  How would you ever fall into a pit which used no pretense?  Naked ambition attracts far fewer devotees than addicts of ‘must make Mama and Daddy proud’ or the ‘doing better for my kids crowd’.”

“Ambition is not all together bad!” I crow.

“Neither is fear in its proper scale, but fear cloaks itself to seize more than its share of your life, just like any parasite.  So take your spring tonic like a good kid and keep the worms at bay.”

Don’t bother licking the self stick stamps

*

FLORAL ECSTASY

I could eat fields of buttercups
And drink down ponds of water lilies.
Wear foxgloves and a pair of lady slippers
I could wrap myself in bridal wreathe
And under pin with nettles.

I could rise with the roses
Lay with the lilies
Shade with the sage
Sing with the trumpet vines

Run away from home
With a Turks cap on my head
And a pansy in my pocket
Until the four o’clock say
Its time to come home.
For evening primrose and then bed.

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

http://www.amazon.com/More-Sober-The-Way-Sane/dp/144141231X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1374072329&sr=8-3&keywords=sober+on+the+way+to+sane

http://www.amazon.com/Lines-My-Life-Sherrie-Theriault/dp/1448652820/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374072576&sr=1-1&keywords=Lines+from+my+life%2C+Sherrie+theriault

Harvest Timing

September 9

HARVEST TIMING

The harvest fits in the growing season and the oak fits inside the acorn.  My sober mind fits right in my sober time.  The soul of everything rubs across the hind leg of a cricket to sing.  The infinite machinery of the universe spins but you stand there questioning the existence of a Higher Power.  Well, that’s who you are, but I have only one question for you.  Who else could have made all the best tomatoes come from Jersey?

Catch rain on your face.

*

Barnum, Bailey & Me

When I wake to find a whip and a chair by the side of my bed

I know I am in for a circus of a day

and the tears of this clown will not change a thing.

I ready myself for the tightrope walk

and watch out for stray elephants.

All the trained poodles in the world

can’t make this into a day in the park.

Painted ponies prance through their paces;

I try to stick to my own act,

meanwhile remembering that no matter how difficult

these routines may be it still beats a seat in the stands.

Renting Joy

July 4

RENTING JOY

I cannot buy happiness.  No matter how much money I spend, how hard I work, I can never pay bliss off on lay away.  The angles of escape for glee are phenomenal.  I see runaway emotions and must concede ownership.  When opportunities arise for satisfaction I pay the fare and take the trip.  The boat isn’t mine to keep but the tour is forever in my heart.  I can’t take it home to bury it in the yard.  Like a wild thing I can leave joy where I find it.  I never need to cage or bind it.  I need to enjoy each measure while the music plays.  I remunerate for time in proximity; delight arrives and stays as long as it likes.  I linger at the table and enjoy my dessert.  Leasing elation is an occasion of celebration.  Living moment to moment has given me this chance.  So, I take it.

Copy your favorite shape.

*

What is at the Eye of the Storm?

Serenity is the alignment of three knowledges

1. Knowing that I am not without skill, talent, gifts.

2.Knowing that I am not without community,

connection, comfort.

3.Knowing that I am not without God,

whether or not I believe God is able to intervene.

When I am in full or even partial possession of these three

I am safe from storm, or no drought,

or no fiery hairy pestilence.

Without this knowledge everything is

storm, drought and pestilence,

no matter what anyone else says or all evidence to the contrary.

I will make my own mess when bereft.

I will pay a large price for ignoring the facts

and the lion’s share of this loss is loss of my serenity

Smog

June 30

SMOG

When I burn out, the smoke affects everyone in the surrounding area.  I forget to keep my wick trimmed and lamp full; I empty out and my light grows dim. I am responsible for maintenance and upkeep.  If I don’t protect my own radiance I will lose it and the darkness will be felt throughout the neighborhood.  I can’t risk the death of illumination or incur smoldering haze.  Fortification of my sobriety is a simple task if I make proper use of resources.  When I turn energy to obligation I am distracted and separated from my source, then the source I am to others is extinguished.  I can only light the darkness where I am; I can’t illuminate someone else’s path.  Nor should I pollute the way with smoke and vapor due to a lapse in my spiritual condition. 

Place the period then write to it.

*

From Mind to Pen to Paper

What a relief to have exteriorized all the swirl of thought,

which normally swarms my mind,

waiting to take the stage and run through their numbers.

Then like deciphering a code

I was able to cross out all the irrelevant and redundant information,

leaving me with a clear answer.

Once there standing on its own;

it was obvious and easily explained

how two plus three is five.

I just love anything that can be explained all on one hand

and there it was tidy and neatly fitted in the nest of my palm,

easy to grasp hold of with my fingers or my mind.

Frozen Strawberries

May 30

FROZEN STRAWBERRIES

“I have them in the freezer,” I tell my sponsor.

“I’m sure you do.  When are you going to take them out and reenact spring?” her retort.

“I don’t want to take them out before I’m ready.  I don’t want them to go to waste.”

“Oh, the Excuse Maker, the Staller.  Are you going to drag all the old chestnuts out of the closet?  I thought you were going to defrost strawberries.”

“Fear, you’re saying fear of strawberries is not a sign of stability?"  I ask her.

“Eat the strawberries or not, but it seems to me you didn’t get sober to avoid the sweeter things in life, keeping all your goodness locked up in the deep freeze destined for frost bite.”

Let sunshine climb in your eyes and fall upon your heart.

*

I’m not Brian

I thought life was based on a system of

‘I will suffer and that will exempt you’.

Then I would be horrified when you suffered,

after I had already done so ahead of you.

In an attempt to ease my dismay I would look to see

who had broken the pact, you or me.

Had I not endured sufficiently to protect you?

Had you left the safety of the umbrella of sanctuary?

Panic gives birth to blame

and blame of course births nasty biting things

that run loose and bury in all the tender spots.

Now the goals I tend are to end the breeding

of those sharp and painful beasties,

stop laying my neck upon the alter

and start telling better jokes.

More Better

April 24

More Better

When I take a break from my idyllic life, trading up to paradise, I balk at thoughts of returning to the simply marvelous day to day I have worked so hard to attain. Self accusation floods under the door, but I whimilate it with fact. My reluctance to turn my back on a good thing is an asset which many days keeps me sober. I greedily seize every improvement and hold on for dear life. If reflections of the past even held a glimmer for me I might worry; I turn from all but the highest good. I don’t regret the past but I shall never return to it.

Glance at the path you feel lead to

*

REALLY RAINING

Why do people ask if someone is really sober?

They’re checking for winners, I guess responded my sponsor

But what does that mean?

Well, when the clouds roll in

And the next thing you know it’s really raining

You can clearly discern the difference between that and just a shower

The commitment of water saturates the atmosphere

And rain is the undeniable certainty

That is what people are looking for

And they ask to discover if the person even comprehends the concept

What do they do if the person is really sober?

Stand next to them

And soak it all in.

Halloween

October 31

Halloween

“Why does self-centered fear wear a costume that looks so much like ‘other people’s opinion’?” I asked my sponsor.

“For the same reason that booze masquerades as ‘a good time.’ How would you ever fall into a pit which used no pretense? Naked ambition attracts far fewer devotees than addicts of ‘must make Mama and Daddy proud’ or the ‘doing better for my kids crowd’.”

“Ambition is not all together bad!” I crow.

“Neither is fear in its proper scale, but fear cloaks itself to seize more than its share of your life, just like any parasite. So take your spring tonic like a good kid and keep the worms at bay.”

Don’t bother licking the self stick stamps

*

FLORAL ECSTASY

I could eat fields of buttercups
And drink down ponds of water lilies.
Wear foxgloves and a pair of lady slippers
I could wrap myself in bridal wreathe
And under pin with nettles.

I could rise with the roses
Lay with the lilies
Shade with the sage
Sing with the trumpet vines

Run away from home
With a Turks cap on my head
And a pansy in my pocket
Until the four o’clock say
Its time to come home.
For evening primrose and then bed.