Participating in Life

Days of Healing, Days of Joy - a Hazelden book

"Thank God every morning when you must get up that you have something to do which must be done, whether you like it or not"...............Charles Kingsley

Marshall McLuhan warned that this age of electronic marvels could turn out to be less than marvelous for human development. He predicted that one effect would be the spawning of vast numbers of voyeurs - people who would rather watch than participate, seek vicarious rather than real experiences, and seemingly not know the difference.

We all know (or may be) people who would rather watch television than participate in the living drama of today's world. Being a spectator is safe. The second-hand defeats and triumphs, the loves and losses that flicker across the screen don't require that we take a stand or make an effort. As long as we don't participate, we don't have to make decisions or take risks.

But real life is lived in the trenches, and real action is never second hand. As the years go by and we look back on our lives, will we want to remember that we played the game, or that we played it safe?
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Today, I pray for the courage to get involved in my own drama.

I can tell you from experience that playing the game is much better. Since I've been disabled I've had to be the spectator, and getting into the trenches is much more fun. Unfortunately for the last 18 years, my game playing has consisted of solitaire, computers, and television. LOL

If I had a choice, I'd have gone skiing this winter, and taken lots of risks! Life is a gift and it's meant to be lived. It's not for "playing it safe" and sitting in front of a television or computer, or texting on a phone.
Now is the time to start doing the things we didn't do before we got sober. We wasted a lot of time -- let's get busy and live LIFE.

Thanks, Leed!