COURAGE MONTH: DAY 31: “Whenever our pencil falters, we can fortify and cheer ourselves by remembering what A.A. experience in this Step has meant to others. It is the beginning of the end
of isolation from our fellows and from God.” — 12 Steps & 12 Traditions
Without the experience, strength and hope from other members, most of us would never attempt to make this list, nor would we ever be willing to make these amends.
In fact, most of us have held on to this crap for a lifetime or longer. We do not believe that this is going to help us, to do this work. So, my courage often comes from the sharing of others who have walked this path and continue to do so.
Their lives and the freedom they experience from crippled relationships are the reason I did this Step in the first place. Today I can call on my own experiences with it to inspire me.
That is the reason, I believe, for meetings in this recovery gig. I need to hear how you worked these steps so I can do the same. What is your outcome? Which of the steps have been turning points? I can honestly say that all of the steps have given me miraculous life benefits. It takes time for some of them to become clear to me.
At first, I believed all I was working on was the desire to stop using and drinking. That seemed to be enough.
But, over the course of the first 3-5 years, I realized that it was NOT about drugs and alcohol. It was all about my broken perception of life and the events of it. Today, this understanding propels me to continue to do what is necessary to relieve me of the bondage of self.
I am still a loner. But I am no longer isolated from God. I have such a deep and significant spiritual connection with EVERYTHING! Life itself is the greatest gift.
And that stems directly from the action required in these steps. It is the outcome I did not know I was looking for. I did not see the beauty and the grace of a life that feels like my life does today.
We are so programmed to believe that jobs and cars and homes and clothes and relationships and the right plastic surgeon are all we need to be happy. Then, when those things fail us, we get miserable and depressed in recovery.
Today I see that I can be totally and wonderfully and beautifully happy with none of these! And much less than I ever thought possible. What a great gift!
Dolphin Hug 