Soulshine

“You never know when things will turn to the better. Be prepared for the change you never expected.” Miami by Monostrip (2010) There are internal miracles that take place during recovery. Things suddenly “turn to the better” and we’re taken by surprise. It starts as soon as we say the First Step and admit that we are powerless over other people, or alcohol or sugar or whatever. The very moment I admitted that I was powerless over other people, that I could not control anyone or make them—or life for that matter—into exactly what I wanted, I felt immediate emotional relief. What I actually felt was the weight of the world being lifted off my shoulders. I wasn’t prepared for this positive change, and I certainly never expected to feel peace, freedom and an odd sort of contentment by admitting that I was powerless. I had been brainwashed to believe I only had power when I could control everything and everyone. The world told me to be powerless was to be a failure. So, ...

“Don’t fight it. Life is a rollercoaster, just gotta ride it… Stop hidin.’ Love is a mystery. Let’s get excited.” Ronan Keating Rollercoasters evoke a great deal of fear in many people, but then, so does life itself. Fear is humanity’s second greatest enemy and it often works hand-in-hand with humanity’s Public Enemy No. 1: Shame. Fear and shame are the great cripplers of human life. They paralyze people in their tracks and rob them of their lives. If you’ve spent much of your life being too fearful to stick your neck out into the real world and say “Life’s a fact, so face it” then you know what I’m talking about. Fear can keep us from climbing aboard a rollercoaster and having the thrill of our day. It can also keep us from stepping out into the real world and having the thrill of our lives. We all know that shit happens. We’ve been hit in the face with it time and again. Some of us wipe the residue of life from our faces and move forward, while others of us flee an...