Freedom: the power to do what is right

Hello again!
I'd like to share with the forum what I am learning after 48 day without PMO and 41 days in a 90-day challenge.

A main concept in our restoration process, and it is what we all are looking for... FREEDOM. Most of all, or at least in my particular case, I thought the meaning was 'do what I want, when I want, how and where I want'. But after seven years fighting to defeat my addiction, I realized that I wasn't free. Even when I thought I was doing 'what I want, when, how and where I want', I wasn't free. I was doing what my impulses and passions demanded from me, the horrible monster of PMO had me captive. I WAS A SLAVE, I WASN'T FREE.

The real meaning of the concept is 'being FREE to do what is RIGHT'. Even when the definition is very simple, it's the hardest thing to do, I've been experiencing it for last seven years. Freedom is when I have the power to do the right thing, not being lead by my passions and impulses, but being led by righteousness, sincerity and every other morally correct concept.

So, summarizing my post, FREEDOM is not being free to do what I want, but to do what is right.

Have a great PMO-free week.

 

Thank you for reading folk!

 

And I am Sanc!

LOL. God bless you mate!

 

DAY 44 OF 90 (48.88%)

Don't stop! Don't look back! Keep running!

 

DAY 45 OF 90 (50%)

Uncountable days under submission and slavery to PMO. At least seven years fighting for freedom. Today, I'm accomplishing 52 days without any PMO and 45 in the challenge. This last number represents halfway to my first goal.

I'm totally agree with many who talk about benefits of days, weeks, months and even years PMO-free. But I think everyone would experience different kinds of benefits according to personal goals and life perspective.

Many benefits are physiological (the organism balancing itself), psychological (better thoughts, moral freedom to see a new approach of life and human relationships). Some might say they feel more attractive or more free to talk girls, less social anxiety, etc. And those could be real benefits they are experiencing, and it's nothing but a new approach to see life, something psychological according to their goals and life perspective, according to what they value more.

I don't feel like experiencing that kind of benefits with girls or socially, I mean, that's no my priority, that wasn't part of my goals when I began this challenge.

I'm experiencing benefits related to moral freedom like talking to others about my problem and new progress. I'm living a new relationship with God where I don't have to be all the time asking but forgiveness, but I can stand praising and thanking him for holiness. This benefits are because that was my first priority, being clean before God and helping others to reach freedom the way I'm reaching.

 

Totally agree with you. There's nothing like this feeling of freedom!

Thank you for reading my friend!

 

A great way to summarize it!

 

DAY 46 OF 90*(51.11%)

Half way plus one day.

Standing firm and dignified!

 

Here's something I read on a great book called the principle of purity by Randy Alcorn. It's giving me a lot of resources to keep morally clean and I'd like to share it with you guys. This is the doughnut parable, enjoy it:

"Imagine someone whose weakness is eating doughnuts. His doctor says, “No more doughnuts.” He vows to God, “No more doughnuts.” He promises his family, “No more doughnuts.” He calls the church and gets on the prayer chain. He even goes to a doughnut deliverance ministry to have the demon of doughnut desire cast out of him.

"Here’s a guy who means business, right?

"But then what does he do? Well, if he’s like a lot of us, he goes right on reading about doughnuts, listening to doughnut music, and watching television programs about making doughnuts. He spends his time with other doughnut lovers talking about doughnuts, joking about doughnuts at the office, where he often glances at the doughnut calendars on the wall. He looks through the newspaper for doughnut coupons and subscribes to Doughnut Desires, with its glossy, color photos.

"It’s not long before he’s driving to work the long way that “just happens” to go by a doughnut shop. He rolls down the window and inhales. Pretty soon he’s buying the morning paper from the rack right outside the doughnut shop. He’s lingering just long enough to check out doughnuts through the window.

"Then he remembers he has to make a phone call, and hey, what do you know, the doughnut shop has a pay phone. And since he’s there anyway, why not have a cup of coffee?

"Now, remember, this man has no intention of breaking his vow and eating doughnuts. But the totally predictable and inevitable result is—what? That he will give in and eat doughnuts!

"And can’t you just hear his sad lament? “What went wrong? I prayed! I asked others to pray. I asked God for deliverance. Why try? I give up. You do your best and look what happens!” "

"The First and Most Basic Strategy"

"If we learn nothing else from the parable of the doughnuts, we should learn that sincere intentions, and even prayers, are not enough. To have victory over temptation we must have clear goals and sound strategies, and we must diligently carry them out.

"What’s our first line of defense against impurity?

" “Flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18)."

 

I'm agree with you man!
Thank you for reading!

Have a clean week!

 

DAY 48 OF 90 (53.33%)

55 days without PMO, 48 in the challenge.

 

DAY 50 OF 90 (55.55%)

I must be dreaming. These last fifty days have gone so fast. I remember February the 1st, when I took the challenge, as it was last weekend.

No doubt, days are being shortened, our lives are passing as running, like water flowing or air blowing, it last an instant; and we use to not being aware of it. We tend to suppose that we are going to be here countless years and we decide to waste time in stupid things.

Today, I could be saying (as I have been saying for the last seven years), "I'm so weak, I can't control myself, I'd prefer to be passed away than living this kind of frustration", you know, all kind of failure thoughts. But the truth is that today I have successful thoughts, I don't want to stop this challenge, I want to share this with as many as I can.

I want to remark that this fifty days I've been swimming against counter , not just floating in the water. There are days when I'd like to take a little look to some bad videos, but that would be a reset for what I've reached now; there are days when I just can stop thinking in releasing. Where are human, but we can control our humanity.

By day fifty I could say: It is worth it!