To My Beautiful Brothers and Sisters Who Struggle…


thelostweekend1

To my beautiful brothers and sisters who struggle…

….know that you are never alone.  While you may feel that no one could possibly be in more pain, in more trouble or more desperate than you…there are countless of us who have been there and know what you are going through.  Grab the hand that reaches for you, for it desires to help you beyond measure.

To my beautiful brothers and sisters who struggle…

…see that powerlessness and surrender do not mean weakness. Strength comes from our ability to see that we need help and that our struggle to control things is only a wasted effort. When we give our will and our lives over to the care of a Higher Power, we are tapping into a power – a power that is beyond measure.

To my beautiful brothers and sisters who struggle…

…recognize that you are a sick person getting well, not a bad person getting good.  Our actions may have been poor and our judgement lacking, during our drinking days, but no one has the right to make us feel less than.  You are finding the path to wellness and recovery, and the joy a life of sobriety brings is beyond measure.

To my beautiful brothers and sisters who struggle…

…learn that you are worthy of everything wonderful that is due to you.  You have worth in this world, and you are needed by us.  Your light is unique, your talents one-of-a-kind and your capacity to grow is limitless.  Your usefulness to this world is beyond measure.

hopelessness

To my beautiful brothers and sisters who struggle…

…do this only for you and you alone.  Do not take this on for anyone other than you.  To do so is futile.  Many lives have been lost in the name of appeasement and kowtowing.  Recovery is an act that may at first seem selfish, but is selfless ever more.  Being true to what the Creator meant us to be, sober, is a gift to others that is beyond measure.

To my beautiful brothers and sisters who struggle…

…remember that your life was not always like this.  You had interests – things that captured your imagination and captivated your spirit, that made the music in your soul ring loudly throughout your life.  Drinking killed ambition and took you away from you.  Transforming your life takes time, but is a journey that is beyond measure.

To my beautiful brothers and sisters who struggle…

…be aware that wherever you go, you are there.  We cannot escape ourselves as much as we cannot escape gravity.  You are uncovering your inner beauty through stripping away what doesn’t serve you. You are removing the grime that took the shine off your once glimmering soul, a soul whose purpose is to gleam onto others in ways that is beyond measure.

benchTo my beautiful brothers and sisters who struggle…

…know that alcohol is not the problem, but the solution.  And a poor solution at that to what ails us, which is essentially mental, physical and spiritual in nature.  Not being able to touch our own skin from within drives us to try and plug the God sized hole inside for years and years. And it never works.  That need for love and acceptance within us that we find in Him is quenched beyond measure.

To my beautiful brothers and sisters who struggle…

…understand that things get worse and never better.  But no matter how down far the scale you go, there is always hope.  There is always a chance to catch the old fire of our spirits that were dulled by the thoughts in our mind, the bottle and the ego who told us that next time, things will be different.  The power of delusional thinking is dangerous beyond measure.

To my beautiful brothers and sisters who struggle…

…see that you weren’t meant to suffer the way you suffer.  We weren’t meant to hurt and be hurt the way we have.  We weren’t created to feel that life would be better if we just escaped through death by our own hand.  We weren’t put 0n this earth to plunge solely into darkness.  The amount of freedom and relief we can find in recovery is beyond measure.

To my beautiful brothers and sisters who struggle…

youareloved

31 Comments Add yours

  1. Mrs D says:

    Wow what a wonderful post. What beauty and inspiration. Poetry! Bless you and your words.. xxxx

    1. Thank you Mrs. D. The funny thing is that I had no intention or idea of writing something like this last night. I had something else entirely in mind, but something guided me towards this and it just came out. Strange and yet not. Thank you for your kindness.

      Blessings to you as well 🙂
      Paul

  2. Oh my how I needed to read these kind words today. So much beauty and wisdom in all that you wrote. Thank you 🙂

    1. I am glad you are here today….your words are what I needed to read as well. We are all here to help and support each other…and you’ve given me something special today. Thank you. 🙂

      Paul

      1. I just re-read this and got even WAY MORE out of it this time around. What stuck out most to me…POWERLESSNESS AND SURRENDER DO NOT MEAN WEAKNESS! I was so stuck on that “P” word at first, but have come to find such a better understanding of it over time. This entire post is such a keeper…love everything you wrote 🙂

  3. runningonsober says:

    Beautiful, thank you Paul!

    1. Thanks Christy! Thank you for stopping by again…love having you here!

      Paul

  4. sherryd32148 says:

    What an amazing post. Just beautiful.

    Thank you,
    Sherry

  5. Thanks, Paul. I *really* needed this today…

    1. Your very welcome, DDG…my pleasure.

      Paul

  6. Paul, you words are inspired, I am so honored to be a part of your blog. Thank you so much for all of your insight!

    1. Thank you, miracle…I have to give it up to the Big Guy…I just type what He tells me 🙂

      Love being part of your corner of the world!

  7. Lisa Neumann says:

    Thanks Paul. You indeed carry the message to the one that still suffers. I hope they take it. A beautiful, beautiful post. (Ditto to all that was commented too.) Lisa

    1. Thank you Lisa. Blessed to have you and everyone here. It brightens my day. 🙂

  8. Lilly says:

    Ah, Paul, you a lovely bright, loving light out here in the sobersphere. Thank you for this and thank you for being here. xoxo

    1. Your kindness is abound here and everywhere I see you, Lilly. Blessings, Paul.

  9. lifecorked says:

    Love this Paul! So much hope and beauty in your writing. I was always trying to fill that hole, but I never could until I got sober and welcomed God into my life. What a blessing!

    1. What a blessing indeed to have God life the obsession and fill that God sized hole…for all of us. Thank you for being here 🙂

  10. Beautiful and poignant. Good heart ya got there thumping in that chest. Yer a bright lighthouse, brother.
    Shipwreck survivor.

    1. For a recovery and writing stud like yourself, Marius…it’s indeed an honour having you here and share your kindness. Thanks. Paul

  11. I will share this with my brother who is back in the hospital tonight for the third time since Day 1 of his sobriety on December 28. He’s almost made 3 months. And the doctors said tonight they think he has leukemia. I hope he isn’t wondering why he bothered to get sober. Yes, I will share this.

    1. My prayers go to you and your brother. And no matter what, there is always reason to be sober. To live out your days recovered and in a clear state of mind, regardless if those days are numbered or not (aren’t all of our days numbered??)…well, that is a blessing indeed. I really hope you guys get good news.

      Love and Light,
      Paul

      1. You are so right. Thank you, Paul.

  12. Erika says:

    I cried reading this, Paul. Thanks a million. You are wonderful.

    1. Thank you Erika…that means a lot to me for you to read and comment…what a joy to have you here 🙂

  13. Number 9 says:

    Oh man I love love love this post. You have a gift, my friend. You get it. And you’re able to pass it on. I hope you have a zillion sponsees. You are saving lives.

    1. Thanks Regina…high praise coming from you! Well, planting seeds is what we do, no? Let’s pray that anyone that reads anything on anyone’s blogs out there changes even one life. And for that, I am grateful to be here, and to be a reader to everyone else’s life stories and experience. Yay to all of us 😉

  14. Al K Hall says:

    Breatht-ache-ingly beautiful. Thank you.

    1. Thanks Al – I hope you are doing well these days. I have missed ya the last few days. Be well, kind sir! Paul

  15. really really lovely. I like this best: Drinking killed ambition and took you away from you.

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