There are times, I think, when we all get stuck. I’m talking about being stuck fast in our thinking. We all enjoy moments of quiet to ourselves and that’s as it should be. But what can often follow can control and change our whole day.
A good friend of mine recently reminded me of a line from Abraham Lincoln to the effect that a man is as happy as he thinks he is. Too often we can think the converse of this; that a man is as miserable as he thinks he is. I know from personal experience how this can be. My sponsor often had to hear me on this subject a lot. A whole lot.
I had been told a long time ago what the cure for this was, but failed to heed it. But with the entrance of my sponosr into my life and some old timers, I was to hear it again and again. The answer was action; physical action.
We hear over and over, or should, that we can’t think our way into a good way of living, but can live our way into a good way of thinking. Our thinking doesn’t necessarily change our actions, but our actions change our thinking. My sponsor and others suggested that if I found myself sitting and thinking negative thoughts, I should stand up. If the thought continued, I should start walking. And if the thought was still there to start running. The idea being that when we change our state of being we are free to change our minds and to choose the next thought, rather than be locked in the prison of our alcoholic minds.
Changing our physical attitude can change our mental attitude and thus our outlook on life.
It’s callled a “break state”. The act of sitting forward and then sitting back breaks or interrupts our thinking momentarily. In that moment we can change our mind. How often have we been sinking into a moody thought and someone asks us to give them a hand and we find it difficult later to return to that state?
When we do this and couple it with a prayer or follow up with a phone call or a meeting, our whole outlook is altered. I was thinking about this this morning. I was thinking about the things which help us stay sober. And that’s exactly why I try to remember the things which have helped me along the way. I want to stay sober.
Don’t get soaked. Take a quick peek at the forecast