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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

August 4, 2008

"If you don't go within, you go without."

Legend has it the deepest wisdom was once freely available to man, but he continued to ignore it. The Gods, growing tired of this, decided to hide this wisdom so only those determined to use it would search and find it. They considered hiding it on the tallest mountain, then underneath the sea, and even buried in the earth, but decided that man would eventually stumble upon it. Finally they decided on the perfect place, inside man himself, a place he would never think to look.

This certainly describes me before recovery. I was constantly searching outside of myself for the answers to my life. I was convinced the right job, or the right relationship, or more money would fill the hole I had inside me. Eventually I turned to drugs and alcohol thinking the temporary relief I got would work, but it never did.

I remember the first time I heard this quote, "If you don't go within, you go without". It meant that not only were all the answers inside of me, but that if I didn't go inside for them, then I would keep searching outside of myself and would continue to go without the solutions. It's taken years for me to consistently search within - the Gods did find the perfect hiding place! - but each time I do, the wisdom is there waiting for me.

It's just like my sponsor keeps telling me, "It's an inside job".