August 9

I am posting a daily meditation from Answers in the Heart this evening for 2 reasons: the first one is that I am tired, the second is because I very much related to the sentence that refers to old, comfortable habits dying hard. I have been battling my urges to objectify men, looking at them solely based on their physical appeal to me. I know that's my addiction coming out. Also, it could be a result of my celibate, masturbation free life now. Lol

• AUGUST 9 •
Art is meant to disturb. — Georges Braque

Many great artists were neglected or even abused during their lifetime because their work was considered too provocative. Painters like Van Gogh, poets like Blake or Poe, and novelists like James Joyce were pushed out to the margins of society because their vision was too disturbing. Most of us like a comfortable life, and those of us who are addicted to one high or another may not want to be troubled by new ways of seeing and imagining the world. Yet the day comes when our addiction no longer satisfies us and we long for a new vision and version of our lives. Art can help us in our recovery. Art allows us to change our way of looking and living, even if at first the change is disturbing. Like artists, we can create new images and new patterns for our lives. At first, it may be painful. Old, comfortable habits die hard. But as we move forward step-by-step in our program, we come to see that it’s exciting to be on the move and even at the frontier of new creative endeavors. Creativity, after all, comes from loving ourselves and others.

I can see that my new life will be full of the unknown, but that is what can make it exciting and creative.