A Disease Of Perceptions?
December 16, 2006 by Mark
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Perception = “1. Conscious understanding of something” and “2. Vision”
Vision = “2. Something imaginary one thinks one sees.”
Now we’re getting somewhere…
More like “mis” perception i.e. my understanding of something is wrong! Sometimes (fairly often) I feel like this is reserved for me from my loved ones;
I’ve heard it said a number of times in our rooms that the disease of alcoholism is a disease of the perceptions. Personally, I believe that is more attempts at profundities by a part of our membership 
We just seem to have this need to separate ourselves in some way, shape or form lol…
Of course, on page 108 our wives are told “Perhaps your husband has been living in that strange world of alcoholism where everything is distorted and exaggerated” which makes a world of sense, to me.
So here’s my difficulty. I feel as if I’m being spoken to as if I’m a lower form of life. By someone I’m living with intimately. I know I have a challenge with my ego. It has been pointed out to me often. I work on it about daily!
My closest friends could tell you how much change has occurred, by me, that was designed for the satisfaction of this other person. Knowingly. Understanding that I am a people pleaser. With an attempt at a balance between pleasing and being controlled. Also done with the knowledge and understanding that this person is damaged goods. Yes, I have gone into this with eyes wide open. And today I am becoming increasingly angry that I have allowed this to happen. It has gotten worse, almost unbearable. I don’t deserve this which is not my opinion alone.
I am far from perfection. Far… but I am willing to do anything it takes to change and be a better person. I’d lay down my life for her – you can count on that. But I’ll be damned if I’ll let her kill me! That has been tried before… by another.
Of course, being the alky I am what I start doing is questioning my perceptions. Am I reading this correctly? Have I perceived the tone of the statements wrongly? Well, when you have heard the different tones of voice being used with two distinct and separate personalities (the 28 yr. old son) in the same house and have the eyes wide open reality that they’re different, you know, don’t you? Yet, I still question myself. Geeesh!
Lastly, but certainly not in the least, is the knowledge that, to walk away from this might be telling the God I understand “Thanks for the miracle, but I’ve decided to pass on it.” This person and I were reunited after 40 years by an absolute act of Providence and nothing else.
Sometimes I really dislike the way life unfolds, for me, ya’ know?
Oh my. Sounds like the crap I do to myself. And usually I am right when I think the other person is not being nice – but I usually doubt my perceptions, blaming on my warped experiences, etc. and try harder to be nicer, or whatever – which makes it worse.
Thanks MC,
I knew somehow I wasn’t alone…
…and sometimes I take myself way too seriously. Really. I do.
I understand – I’m not free from that either, dos…
The “protocol” for what you did is – to quote and attribute i.e. use partial excerpts, link and mention the author. That’s the respectful way to do what you did, the sober way… not copy and paste the entire article. For that you could be (and still might because of what you still have from other authors on your Blog) sued for plagiarism or have your web site or hosting shut down.
I’m not about to do that unless you become egregious in your violations (you didn’t, to me) but others might not see it the same way and you’ll find a DMCA in your inbox and a CC in your host’s inbox. That won’t be a good thing…
Interesting take on things but linking to the original is a very clear statement of “this is the original author” and also direct indication to the reader that the page they are reading was not written by the site publisher. Plagiarism is when work is claimed as original–that’s the only definition. In blogging, if I were to “blog” a call for interview of a new documentary…
http://livingwithgeeks.blogspot.com/2006_09_05_livingwithgeeks_archive.html
…and, in my blog, posted all of the text in the author’s original post with a link back to that original blog, the original author would likely look on this as a favor. They might even feel more than a small flicker of gratitude in their heart that I took the time to recognize what they were doing and linked to it on my own web site.
Even if they didn’t, I doubt seriously they would attempt to create a new, extended definition for plagiarism.
Well, I guess I’m not quite sure of your motives here dos. It appears to me that you’ve almost said exactly the same thing I did except you put it in different words. Or – you have some need to get into a pissing contest about definitions.
Try re-reading what I said. If that doesn’t work, call your sponsor. I’ve been Blogging for a while and I’m not a rookie. Your attempt at diminishing me won’t work especially when it also attempts to rationalize your actions, which are wrong.
That’s the end of this conversation btw… except that no, it wasn’t looked upon as a favor. That’s ridiculous.
hey mark : Another mental midget with double digits????????? Hey when you get the Dec Grape vine look for the fish Church there 60th {Rocky Point} while I;ve got your attention, Margaret’s group held a group inventory at the regular meeting and only group members could share and this was done during regular meeting hours . have you ever heard of such a thing? or am i off base thinking this is rather odd ?
Good luck over the holiday remember the short verison of the sernity pray but just say it to yourself :
Merry , Merry CHRISTmas
Mikey!!!!!!
I see you’re keeping CHRIST in CHRISTmas! Good fer you!!! And a Happy, Merry Christmas to your and your family too!
As for other issues lol – now, I’m not going to call someone I don’t know a mental midget. I might call you that, but you’d know that’s cuz I love ya’! To call someone else that I don’t know a belittling name would only be an attempt at proclaiming my self-righteousness.
As for that group inventory – ??? As I recall (possibly way wrong) Blue Point did that once preceded by weeks of announcements to all attending regular meetings that that one night would be different. Without some previous knowledge to those attending I’d say it was off-base but if they tried to let others know before-hand I’d say it wasn’t such a bad thing.
You – off base? Naaaahhhhh – wadda ya’ – kidding? Ever humble Mike P.? Off base? I thought youse wuz alwayzzzz right – no??? lmao…