A few days ago I was listening to my iPod and some lyrics jumped out and grabbed me: it was a Wood Brothers song called "Postcards From Hell." The song is about an old blues musician, a wonderful artist; somebody asks him "how he sings his blues so well" and he says: "I got a soul that I won't sell... and I don't read postcards from hell."
BOOM! That hit me between the eyes. It gave voice to the way I look at my own work at living an AF life... and, by extension, my work at living a good and meaningful life. I don't read postcards from hell. Just like every other human being, I am prone to thoughts that, if entertained and taken seriously, will take me down the path to destruction. And I have a choice: I can pay attention to those thoughts, I can listen to "the Beast," I can seriously listen to the voice of my poor deluded alcoholic brain/mind... or not. The choice is mine. It takes a lot of work to repeatedly give up the temptation to listen to the seductive voice of alcohol... it arises all by itself in my mind, sometimes for no apparent reason; and it is pumped into our environment by all those who profit from the sales of alcohol, and who tell us that drinking makes us happier, prettier, skinnier, and richer... But the work is well worth it.
One of the AA slogans that has the best underlying scientific support is this: "Stinkin' Thinking." It recognizes this concept: that we can think our way into relapse, very very easily. And it recognizes that it is up to us to manage our minds, to be careful about what we allow ourselves to think. Thinking influences behavior and emotion: these three aspects of human functioning are intimately interrelated. If we are careful about how we think, it will help us to more effectively manage our emotional lives, and our behavior.
Postcards From Hell:
[ame=
]YouTube - WOOD BROS. LIVE- Postcards from Hell[/ame]
wip
BOOM! That hit me between the eyes. It gave voice to the way I look at my own work at living an AF life... and, by extension, my work at living a good and meaningful life. I don't read postcards from hell. Just like every other human being, I am prone to thoughts that, if entertained and taken seriously, will take me down the path to destruction. And I have a choice: I can pay attention to those thoughts, I can listen to "the Beast," I can seriously listen to the voice of my poor deluded alcoholic brain/mind... or not. The choice is mine. It takes a lot of work to repeatedly give up the temptation to listen to the seductive voice of alcohol... it arises all by itself in my mind, sometimes for no apparent reason; and it is pumped into our environment by all those who profit from the sales of alcohol, and who tell us that drinking makes us happier, prettier, skinnier, and richer... But the work is well worth it.
One of the AA slogans that has the best underlying scientific support is this: "Stinkin' Thinking." It recognizes this concept: that we can think our way into relapse, very very easily. And it recognizes that it is up to us to manage our minds, to be careful about what we allow ourselves to think. Thinking influences behavior and emotion: these three aspects of human functioning are intimately interrelated. If we are careful about how we think, it will help us to more effectively manage our emotional lives, and our behavior.
Postcards From Hell:
[ame=
wip
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