I came across this quote from Gerald May on St. Augustine this week and man, did it pierce my soul. “God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them.” As I contemplated what I fill my hands with my first thoughts were “things”, stuff, possessions.Continue reading “Grace”
Author Archives: RWCOACHING
Honesty
Step one of AA’s twelve steps says that “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.”The principle behind this step is honesty. Being honest with ourselves. I didn’t understand this my first time through the steps. In fact, I think I chose to ignore this step while attempting toContinue reading “Honesty”
Expectation
Expectation. All of us have experienced it. I’m sitting in the coffee shop where I usually write my blog. I’ve been coming here for years and people here know me. When I walk through the door I’m usually greeted with, “Hey Ron!” Often, before I reach the counter, they are getting my cup ready andContinue reading “Expectation”
How long?
Early in my recovery I remember asking my parole officer how long I would have to attend meetings. She answered with a question, “Do you intend just to satisfy the DOC or do you intend to stay sober?”I still remember how bad that pissed me off. I attended meetings every week but only because ifContinue reading “How long?”
Tracking My Struggle
When I began my journey down the road to recovery, I attended a group therapy program. Our therapist wanted us to journal during the week about what was going on when we were struggling. She also wanted to know what was going on when things were good. I later became involved in a group thatContinue reading “Tracking My Struggle”
Intimacy
The Oxford Dictionary defines intimacy as “close familiarity or friendship, closeness”. Psychcentral.com defines emotional intimacy as “being transparent with your deepest feelings, fears and thoughts. A definition that really resonates with me is, “deeply knowing someone, while also feeling deeply known”. For most of my life my only concept of intimacy was sex. But evenContinue reading “Intimacy”
After The Holidays
Some of us have just come through our first holiday season without a relapse. I’m so proud of you. This is such a big deal. Any season, any day, any hour or minute sober is something to celebrate. The holiday season seems to be the toughest time of year for many people and there areContinue reading “After The Holidays”
Does Anyone See Me?
There’s a podcast I listen to called The Place We Find Ourselves with Adam Young. Recently he mentioned three questions. Does anyone see me? Does anyone hear me. Can anyone help me? He called these questions of attunement and said these are questions we are all asking. I have a new granddaughter. She’s three monthsContinue reading “Does Anyone See Me?”
Anger and Resentment
Over the course of my life, because of my size and mannerisms, especially before I get to know someone or they get to know me, people have used words like intimidating, scary, and controlling to describe me. I have recognized that I have anger issues but have resisted identifying as resentful. I did find itContinue reading “Anger and Resentment”
Suffering Well Together
Recently, as I sat in. a group, a participant shared that they somehow found strength as they listened to others in the group share about their struggles. Even if the event being shared took place years ago, comfort was experienced by the one hearing as they identified their current struggles in this story from theContinue reading “Suffering Well Together”