Quotes and wise words that have helped you through?

[AmeliePoulain]

Hi all,

 

During this quit/recovery process, I've found it really inspiring to read quotes and poetry about addiction, adversity, patience and recovery. I was wondering if other people have had similar experiences and if they would like to share those words here. It was Jon's reference to The Journey that made me think of this. A few of my favourites right now:

 

“One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.†― Andre Gide

 

No matter how hopeless or bleak things appear, the moment always comes when suddenly our spirit revives, and hope is reborn. That is why we must never give up.

 

“One day in retrospect the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.†― Sigmund Freud

 

“Another page turns on the calendar, April now, not March…I wanted to swallow the bitter seeds of forgetfulness... Somehow, I dragged myself out of the dark and asked for help. I spin and weave and knit my words and visions until a life starts to take shape.

 

There is no magic cure, no making it all go away forever. There are only small steps upward; an easier day, an unexpected laugh, a mirror that doesn't matter anymore.

 

I am thawing.â€

― Laurie Halse Anderson, Wintergirls

 

“Scars are not injuries, Tanner Sack. A scar is a healing. After injury, a scar is what makes you whole.†― China Miéville, The Scar

 

“We must be content to grow slowly. Most of us will still barely be at the beginning of our recovery by the time we die. But that is better than killing ourselves pretending to be healthy.† ― Simon Tugwell

 

“How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment, we can start now, start slowly changing the world! How lovely that everyone, great and small, can make their contribution toward introducing justice straightaway… And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness!†― Anne Frank

 

“Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.â€â€• Ayn Rand

 

There are so many things I would love to post along these lines – I’ve tried to keep it limited. I look forward to hearing the words that inspire others.

[Jon]

^{“One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.†― Andre Gide}

 

 

 

^{This one hits home for me quite a lot, but they all speak to me Amelie.  Thank you for doing the research. Here are a few by Rumi that may speak to us in recovery:}

 

^{“Where there is ruin, there is hope for a treasure.â€}

― Rumi

 

^{“There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled.}

There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled.

You feel it, don't you?â€

― Rumi

 

^{Why do you stay in prison}

When the door is so wide open?â€

― Rumi

 

^{“This being human is a guest house. Every morning is a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor...Welcome and entertain them all. Treat each guest honorably. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.â€}

― Rumi

 

 

 

[AmeliePoulain]

Thanks Jon

 

Had to share this one too - it's Edgar Allen Poe:

 

“I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom."

[ashley6]

Thanks Jon

Had to share this one too - it's Edgar Allen Poe:

“I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom."

Wow, thanks for sharing this. Quite powerful!

[Jon]

I did not know Poe used stimulants. How interesting it is in light of his work. Strange and impending doom is a common thread in all his works.

 

Thank you

[Motivation_Follows_Action]

Has anyone read the book about vulnerability that is top of the best seller list? I've downloaded it and will read it on vacation I hope. I read this quote though which was enough to make me stop and think.

“Vulnerability isn’t good or bad…(it) is the core of all emotions… To feel is to be vulnerable. To believe vulnerability is weakness is to believe that feeling is weakness. To foreclose on our emotional life out of fear that the costs will be too high is to walk away from the very thing that gives purpose and meaning to living.”

“Vulnerability isn’t good or bad…(it) is the core of all emotions… To feel is to be vulnerable. To believe vulnerability is weakness is to believe that feeling is weakness. To foreclose on our emotional life out of fear that the costs will be too high is to walk away from the very thing that gives purpose and meaning to living.”

Often adderall makes us dull our senses so we become a wall. To our own feelings and to those of others. Something I realized during the last few weeks is that adderall was a kind of novacaine for my pain. If I focused on work I wouldn't have to deal with the circumstances or people around me. It was (and always will be) an escape.