Hey guys, how's it going?
So... Interesting update...
I got this from my dad today on messenger...
My addictions counselor friend told me how I felt about it....
I told her
"Well... I'm not saying that he's a bad dude like I really truly honestly see no ill intent here nor do I have any ill intent towards him.
I think right now I need to do three things though. 1: I need to examine my intentions
2: (this is going to be my healthy coping strategy of choice right now) I need to write about it
And 3: I need space and time to think about it. Which... This might be only long enough to write about it idk but it might be longer too.
I'll be back soon."
It's crazy to be honest I have no idea where to begin with this... So let's start with examining intent...
And because I really have no idea what that means... I'm gonna look up the definition of examine, the defition of intent, and then how to examine intent.
Examine: 1: inspect (someone or something) in detail to determine their nature or condition; investigate thoroughly.
2: test the knowledge or proficiency of (someone) by requiring them to answer questions or perform tasks.
Intent: intention or purpose
Thanks Google.
Let's define intention then.
Intention: a thing intended; an aim or plan.
Okay I feel dumb for having to even look those things up but a motherfucker need it real clear sometimes and today that motherfucker happens to be me haha.
OK smart-ass Google, how do you examine intention?
Okay... I found a website I think this is gonna be good. This is the website I'm pulling from:
We're often asked to set an intention at the beginning of a yoga class. What, exactly, does this mean?
wanderlust.com
Here's the first thing that popped out at me:
*********"An intention is the legacy you leave when you find what is most important to you and start living in accordance with that value."*******
That's some heavy ass shit, like to me, at least. Like I had to pause and reread that multiple times.
Let me paste it again here we go
An intention is the legacy you leave when you find what is most important to you and start living in accordance with that value.
That one feels fucking good to even say honestly. I fucking LOVE that definition of intention.
Okay let's read on...
"Whether you are waking up and thinking about your day or settling into yoga class, take a moment to close your eyes and get grounded by determining your immediate focus. Intentions such as balance, gratitude, or forgiveness suggest a theme of self reflection and improvement."
I love this because it gives me the freedom to change my intent at any given point like I can wake up tomorrow morning and all of a sudden decide that I'm gonna have a shitty fucking day and guess what I'll probably have a shitty fucking day but on the flip side I can CHOOSE to have the intention (the legacy of THAT DAY) of having a good day and guess what? I'm probably gonna have a pretty fuckin good day. Like it's the best thing in the world that I can fucking CHOOSE the intent of the day like there might not be much I get to choose like I don't get to choose if there's food in my fridge right now I don't get to choose if I have cigarettes or not like those things are gonna come and go and maybe sure to SOME point I get to choose but ultimately it's out of my hands.
Like I fucking LOVE rainy chilly days like I'm gonna have a good fucking day when it's a little rainy and chilly BUT I don't get to choose that!
What I DO get to choose is my intent!
'ok it's not raining nor chilly (it's actually hot as fuck out recently) BUT..... BUT.... I can CHOOSE to have a good day anyway'
OK with all that being said I want to try to establish my intention for the rest of today (the legacy I want to leave behind when I'm looking at today, tomorrow, through the lens of what I feel tomorrow)
I have the intention of having a good day, sure, but more than that... I have the intention of opening my heart up, eventually sending my dad back a message, and finding balance in my soul (this looks like not getting angry at things that are out of my control) (this looks like not me putting myself in the way of things that might cause too much emotional distress) (things I can do to do this: watch schitts creek with my friend tonight, give myself space and time to think about what I want to say to my dad, and doing laundry)
I have the intention of self love (by doing the things that keep me emotionally stable that I don't HAVE to do but choose to do so anyway)
(this looks like not pressuring myself to message my dad back. This looks like continuing to be sober for today at least. This looks like me not feeling bad about myself if I choose not to do laundry. This looks like me not choosing to feel bad about myself if this is all I write on this post (even though I'm gonna keep writing anyways).
My intentions for today is also for improvement in ways that keep me sober. (this looks like writing my feelings down on here, this looks like setting healthy boundaries with other people who cross them (like my "best friend" and my neighbor who likes to talk about his gold digging girlfriend too often)
Okay so I listed multiple intentions and I got this little voice in my head saying "shelby you can only have one intention" but I'm going to kill off that voice for now because I really truly honestly believe you can have more than one intention for a day and so today I'm gonna have more than one intention. If I get so simplified in life that I can just have one intention then great I'll just have one intention but until then I'm gonna have multiple, changing intentions for each day.
OK let's read on...
"Establishing gratitude as an intention will help you concentrate on the people, work, and achievements you are grateful for and work toward your new goals while feeling at peace with your current situation."
Okay this is completely fair but I feel like I'm confused about short term gratitude vs long term gratitude.
So let's talk about short term gratitude.
Short term gratitude to me... Means being grateful in the moment... I'm grateful I'm alive I'm grateful that pain is temporary I'm grateful for the food pantry I'm grateful for my "best friend" taking me to the food pantry today. Like this to me is short term gratitude so I wonder if maybe long term gratitude is either
The INTENT to be grateful long term (over the span of a long time)
OR
Being grateful each day for a long time.
I would like to say it's the first one but I think the answer is both right like isn't intent followed by action?
Long term gratefulness is the INTENT of being grateful each day WITH THE ACTION of actually waking up and being grateful EACH DAY.
Y'all am I on fire or what I can just feel the holy spirit moving through my fingertips right now y'all OK LET'S READ
"As your search for meaning and purpose continues throughout your life, you can hope to stumble upon the revelation of what your life-long intention is, or you can set your own path that inspires you to live your best life. When you look back on your life, your life-long intention is what truly mattered to you. It could be community, balance, peace—anything you deem core to your life’s values. ***************If you desire to seek balance in every area of your life, striving to do so commits you to this intention."***********
Y'all... How fucking smart am I intention is followed by action.
SO
IF I seek to commit to courage... Which really truly is a life long intention of mine...
Then I have to wake up everyday with the INTENTION of courage followed by
You guessed it!
The action of courage!!!
Yall... I've already learned so much in this post I can't believe there's even more to read...
"You may stray from your life-long intention at times, but finding your way back will ensure you are in accordance with your own dreams and goals."
Okay so even this article realizes that you're not just going to have one intention in life.
Not only that but coming back to the original life intention means resetting yourself in accordance of your life goals.
I had life goals. All I'm doing in my immediate sobriety is just resetting them and continuing to follow them. And I'm allowed to do that as many times as I want as long as it acts in courageous ways.
Ok let's read:
"Demonstrate actions on a daily basis that commit you to your intentions and watch how the effects of these actions help you become more grounded and find purpose in your life."
Okay so what does this look like to me?
This looks like acting courageously (obviously)
This looks like doing scary things when I don't want to.
This looks like giving up drugs.
This looks like helping those who need it.
This looks like starving sometimes because you're waiting for your foodstamp money to hit your card.
Okay...
Okay.......
Okay....
So that was practice... Now what are my intentions with my dad?
Let's go ahead and post this and then I'm going to write another post dedicated to my intentions with my father...
Shelby 8/2/21 7:04pm