I Know Success Is Waiting for Me on the Other Side

I found this in the Faces and Voices of Recovery online group. I'm glad I never experienced the same kind of pain as Paul did, but at the time my pain was excruciating. So don't give up:

Paul Noiles

When things become incredibly fearful, difficult and unpleasant and we want to give up –------DON’T!!! Because there will always be days when the pain seems unbearable and we want to crawl back into our shell. Trust me; I wanted to when my wife left me for a Toronto cop and then, my new fiancée died in a car accident five years later. When I squandered almost half a million dollars on substances to fuel my addiction, and I ended up homeless. When twice, I was robbed and beaten within an inch of death. I wanted to give up with each relapse, and every time someone saw me as hopeless. But I didn’t give up, no matter how terrible my life seemed. I remained standing and fought for a better life! Eventually, through GRACE, all the elements came together, and I had a profound awakening of consciousness.

Here is what I learned from not giving up:

1) Our supposed bad days is how our greatness is born and how we really discover who we are. They are opportunities for our most significant victories.

2) It is easy to get sucked into the false belief that our current suffering is better than the unknown future and never try or give up. Remember- the fear that maybe it’s too much work or we may fail or are not good, smart, talented or educated enough must be seen as lies because all our dreams are on the other side of this invisible line called fear. I say cross it anyway! When things get uncomfortable, say to yourself, "I will not give up; I will persevere! I will do this uncomfortable, challenging thing because I know that success is waiting for me on the other side. I choose courage over fear. I choose love over fear. I choose my dreams over fear. Fear is not who I am today – LOVE IS!"

3) It’s not that difficult to overcome these seemingly ghastly problems. WHAT IS HARD IS TO DECIDE. Decide not to give up entirely. Decide we are worth it!

4) The LIGHT OF SPIRIT is burning brightly within each and every one of us –and so, we must never give up on ourselves. We are not victims; we are powerful beyond measure.

It's surreal to look back and observe that not only did I overcome but I found my purpose once my false self was consumed in the fire of suffering. Only then was I able to dive deeply into the well of Awakening Consciousness and serve and help others do the same. Which for me, is the act of surrender and action; surrender and action; repeat. It's a dance of TRUST with the Universal One Power. It's how we transmute fear into love -our true state of being.

And guess what, I am still going to have some not so great days because life happens. However, I know who I am and that makes all the difference.