When things are going well there is a natural tendency to slack off a touch, even in our spiritual work. The sun is shining, the clouds decorating a peaceful sky, perfect for watching lying on a soft bed of grass, peace immanent. Life is good. Though we do and should enjoy these times we must remain wary of complacency. Like the athlete who trains daily for occasional competitions, we pray and meditate daily to keep our connection to the Miraculous fresh and open for the inevitable storms that come to every life. Living on the Spiritual Basis we now understand the rain falls on the just and the unjust equally, not as punishment or Karma, but as opportunities to grow beyond limitation. Living on the new basis, the Spiritual Basis, today when a storm comes, we gently step back into the shelter of Spiritual Truth,out of the wind and rain, continuing to pray and meditate until the storm passes and peace returns. Having embraced eternity we now understand the truth of being, that behind every cloud, the sun still shines, and every storm brings the ingredients for growth and an opportunity to demonstrate faith and trust in a Power Greater Than Ourselves.
Behind Every Cloud, The Sun Still Shines
Published by Vincent Lee Jones
Silk sheets or city streets, Park Avenue or park bench, addiction is an equal opportunity destroyer of lives. My name is Vincent Lee Jones and I have been in recovery since September 1985. My professional career began when I was nearly 20 years in recovery and was asked to work pro bono with at risk students at Huntington Beach High School. At the time I had developed a reputation within the at large recovery community as an effective communicator and was known to some of the faculty. After the death of two students from prescription drugs I was asked to start working with at risk students, which I did for nearly 5 years. Word of mouth lead to offers of compensated freelance Facilitator and Director positions with numerous local treatment facilities in the ensuing years. As a retired Building Contractor/Designer, working in conjunction with a treatment facility, I created a construction program utilizing a workforce comprised almost exclusively of people new or returning to recovery, helping them to not only learn a trade and start making a living but since many of them had relapsed numerous times, to begin truly building a foundation with real aftercare to live free of active addiction. This program changed many lives. In my 30+ years in recovery I have worked with thousands of individuals from all walks of life, teenagers to the retired, famous to infamous, prosperous to those living hand to mouth, adamant atheists to those embracing strong Religious beliefs; suffering from all manner of intoxicant and behavior-based addictions as well as those who love and care about them, both as a member in recovery Fellowships and as a treatment professional. I can be contacted at 714-366-1725. I write and publish daily a recovery based nondenominational spiritually based blog at https://livinginspirit.blogspot.com with accompanying videos that can be found as well on YouTube and LinkedIn at Vincent Lee Jones. View more posts