Paris Hilton is Free!

Paris Hilton is free! Almost two hours on CNN was dedicated to the release of Paris from jail last night. While it sounds like the time alone did her some good (I watched a little of Larry King), I have to ask, why do we care? Why do we allow ourselves to get so caught up in the drama of other people’s lives? Doesn’t getting caught up in this stuff just add to “the swirl?” Don’t we have enough problems of our own?

Now, I live in a house with two teen age girls and a wife who is a natural evangelist. We also have female boarders most of the year, so talk about the potential for drama – we’ve got it! One of the ways to escape the swirl that our lives sometime become, is to not take on the drama of other peoples lives. This doesn’t mean we don’t care – we do – but we do what we can, and we leave the rest up to God.

Again, I have to return to recovery programs on how to avoid getting caught up in the drama of other people’s lives. In recovery Sponsors deal with some of the biggest human tragedy possible. People who will do anything to get high, and in the process leave a trail of pain and human suffering; so why don’t Recovery Sponsors get burnt out?

There are several reasons why, but one of the ways sponsors avoid losing themselves in the drama of the lives of the people they sponsor is: sponsors are encouraged to never lose site of the fact that they are recovering too, and that their own recovery comes first before all else. If they get too caught up in the recovery of the people they sponsor they risk losing their own sobriety.

You could substitute the word “recovery” for the words, “relationship with God.”

Our own relationship with God has to come first before we are ready to go out and save the world. Losing our relationship with God, even in circumstances where we are helping others, means losing “the pearl of great price.” Staying aware of how we are feeling, and our connectedness to God is essential. We need to keep asking, what am I feeling? Am I feeling connected to God? Am I getting enough rest? When was the last time I had a good talk with my wife, kids, or best friend? And then not relaxing our boundries when it comes to our spiritual disciplines in favor of relieving other people’s pain, is essential too.

Through prayer and experience (doing it wrong!) we can develop a healthy detachment to the drama of others. Prayer and meditation helps us focus on your own relationship with God first, before the junk of others.

Prayer and mediation helps us to “let go” - the foundation of all true spirituality.

A final key is trusting the drama – ALL OF IT – our own, our family’s, our friend’s, the world’s, to God.

learning to pray: "Do what you can, and leave the rest up to God." - a recovery saying.