Just Stand

There are always going to be days when everything seems to go terribly wrong and on these days it’s vital that we keep standing. We just keep standing, no matter how terrible life may become or appear to be, we keep standing. We stand and do not give up. The bottom line is that sometimes we must stand as the storm passes by.

I wanted to give up when my wife left me for a Toronto cop. I wanted to give up when my fiancée Nicole died in a car accident. I wanted to give up when a few friends died of addiction. I wanted to give up over the course of 10 years, as I squandered almost half a million dollars on substances to fuel my addiction. I wanted to give up when I went from being wealthy to being homeless on the streets in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. I wanted to give up when twice, I tried to take my life, but GRACE intervened. I wanted to give up in Ottawa when I was robbed and bricked in the face, and in Vancouver when I was beaten with a metal pipe within an inch of my life. I wanted to give up with each relapse, and each time someone looked at me as being hopeless. I especially wanted to give up because I hurt those who loved me in my addiction years. I wanted to give up when the LIGHT within was almost unrecognizable but I didn’t. I went through hell and back but I STOOD, and I am still standing. My tenacity to stand was epic! For whatever the reason, I was gifted with the inner knowing that the Holy, the Divine, IT – Love – pure Consciousness was always within, even when I could barely feel the flame at many moments. It was what kept me going. Somewhere within me, I knew, “ALL IS WELL" and that we all deathless -eternal energy.

Not only am I still standing but I am thriving because I now know my true nature of LOVE and this Love I give away daily. But life happens, no matter if we get ill, have a few months to live or relapse back into an addiction. No matter if your child dies of cancer. No matter if we become crippled from a car accident -----JUST STAND because what matters the most is how we live right now. Make a decision to JUST STAND because life is always changing, there is no permanence in anything, life is a happening and life is always working for the evolution of our soul. But also don't forget to reach out to others who can stand alongside us.

What we can't do alone we can do together.

When I looked, as the observer of my life, over the last 18 years of recovery I agreed with what Robert Downey Jr. had to say to Oprah Winfrey, and I quote:

"I believe my suffering was for some higher purpose. It is easy to embrace hopelessness when things seem insurmountable and yet it is just a matter of time before all the elements come together for things to be alright. I believe it's not that difficult to overcome these seemingly ghastly problems. WHAT IS HARD IS TO DECIDE. Most difficult situations will resolve themselves if you are persistent and don't give up entirely and that is exactly what I did, I NEVER GAVE UP."

And just like Robert I never gave up and today I am a person of long-term recovery who had a powerful awakening of consciousness and lost all desire to use and so, in the end, it was all worth it.

We will have good days and days where we struggle but make no mistake, we will always learn more from our struggles than our good days. There is always the potential to learn more about ourselves, our relationships, spiritual principles and life itself when we are having a bad day. We build our character and transmute fear into love. Our struggles, sufferings, and un-comfortabilities can be the gasoline on the fire of our spiritual growth or they can just be bad days where we continue to suffer and without them, none of us would be who we are today.

Affirmation for standing:

"I will keep standing through all obstacles. I will reach out to others so they can stand with me. I will show up no matter what happens in my life because I know life is forever changing. I will have the spiritual knowledge that whatever is happening in the physical realm is perfect for my spiritual evolution. I will live from a place of non-judgment and deep gratitude. I will be kind, compassionate and be of service to others. I will live my LIFE like there is no tomorrow, knowing that all is well and so it IS.”