…That it is time to remember the principles before personalities?
… but OH if that isn’t often the hardest thing to do.
There is an old adage that asks: “Would you rather be RIGHT or would you rather be HAPPY.” On any certain day the answer could be different for me. The fact is that I, like so many, hold an ego that is often in need of feeding. I can be stubborn and GOD knows that I think far too much. The burden of an over-thinker is the thoughts often trip over one another and logic can sometimes be lost. Over-thinking is something that I combated in earlier years with alcohol and substances. There are days in my current world that I wish there was another alternative.
Meditation? Yoga? A long run? I am successful to a point with the first two. The third is not as efficient in its methods of clearing the never-ending stream of consciousness I am capable of. Taking a walk is often even worse… and I do love a good walk… but sometimes I can walk further than I had anticipated simply because I will think my way into hikes that produce weight loss.
So perhaps there are some benefits to over-thinking I hadn’t considered?
Back to the adage about being right or being happy. There has been a considerable amount of time in my current days that I have found myself in these long arduous ropes of words and phrases running endlessly through my head about what I need, what I want and more than likely what I don’t need and don’t want. Truth be told it is the latter two that dominate. People in my world become barriers to my freedoms and rewards. They are the problem and I am an unwitting victim (that, however, doesn’t last long because I abhor professional victims and whiners and I will quickly talk myself out of that mode… another benefit of the endless mind chatter.)
Today I am reminding myself that there is a piece of a program that I embrace on and off in my life that teaches me a way to remember that the world around me is more or less immaterial to the whole of my existence. If I do not maintain and perfect what is inside I am going to be useless to anyone or anything on the outside. What is inside is integral to the well-being of my own existence. The bottom line is that I actually do want to be happy… and do not care if I am necessarily “right”… in the end that is all relative and subjective anyway. My ego does not always require being stroked. My sense of well-being would appreciate the feeling of enjoyment in this life just as much as possible.
The idea of “principles before personalities” can mean many things. In its original meaning it came from Alcoholics Anonymous as a tradition that reminded or suggested to members to remember the program’s importance and the need for anonymity. It also reminds the reader to practice genuine humility. This is where I am going with it in this entry. For me, and perhaps more especially at this time in my life (because it is where I am) I must remember that the people around me are the personalities. The way I maintain myself would be the principles. If I practice the humility prescribed these principles will not only keep me happy but will help me to elevate my daily being… keep me steady and out of conflict either within or without of my head. If I practice this successfully the personalities will become irrelevant… and probably a lot more enjoyable in co-existence.
Enough said.
Be Happy. Be Well. Be.