Forgiving

 

Joy to forgive and joy to be forgiven hang level in the balances of love.

~Richard Garnett

If we are unable or unwilling to forgive others for whatever they do, we won’t be able to forgive ourselves for our actions. The agony of resentment, guilt, remorse, and shame will overpower us. These emotions will halt our progress toward the comfortable and rewarding living we are promised in recovery.

Early in recovery, we often were told to pray for those whom we thought had wronged us. This philosophy is as old as civilization. Forgiveness will always triumph over guilt and shame. Recovery is one-third love and two-thirds forgiveness.

Sane choices

 

Every day we pray for the willingness to make sane choices about our lives. In the morning, when we awaken, the way we feel gives us an idea of whether the day will be easy or difficult. If we’re not feeling our strongest, we need to take special care of our abstinence that day.

That might mean a phone call, writing out how we plan to confront a difficult situation, writing affirmations to take with us, or thinking ahead to potential danger. Do we need to avoid a certain part of town, make a contract not to call an old acquaintance, or stay away from certain music?
 

Contentment

 

We are men on a quest. We seek the serenity of being friendly toward the world and toward ourselves. The spiritual practices we follow are personal and quiet, not spectacular or dazzling. We have been part of the throng seeking stimulating highs. Some of us know the excitement and escape of saving others from their own troubles or drowning ourselves in activity and work. We may know the mellowness of a drug or food binge. Perhaps we know the heart-pounding intensity of shoplifting, gambling, or physical pursuit.

The way of life suggested by this simple program changes us deeply if we fully surrender to it. This spiritual quest changes us slowly over time, and our reward is contentment. It produces a joy, a feeling of well-being, that is far richer than the momentary pleasures we sought in the past.

Today, I am grateful for a way of life that leads me toward a contentment I can rely on.

Pain

"Though I still find it difficult to accept today's pain and anxiety with any great degree of serenity - as those more advanced in the spiritual life seem able to do - I can give thanks for present pain nevertheless. I find the willingness to do this by contemplating the lessons learned from past suffering - lessons which have led to the blessings I now enjoy. I can remember how the agonies of alcoholism, the pain of rebellion and thwarted pride, have often led me to God's grace, and so to a new freedom."

Bill W., Grapevine, March 1962
c. 1967 AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 266

Thought to Consider . . .

Joy isn't the absence of pain - it's the presence of God.

AACRONYMS

F A I L U R E
Fearful, Arrogant, Insecure, Lonely, Uncertain, Resentful, Empty

 

Stillness

Stillness is not so much the absence of noise and activity, but rather the presence of transparency, an invisible openness to the immediate world about us. Heaviness falls away from us, and a richer, deeper life appears. Time alone, in which we can be curious and question everything, is the only true way to get to know oneself.

When we take a spell away from the daily race, quiet the turbulence of our normal pace, and slow down to the speed of life, we stimulate a different part of us, which opens us to new ideas and puts us more in touch with what we really love. The sense of spaciousness to just be, in a world so consumed by doing, is good for us on every level and reinforces our commitment to remain clean and sober.

Change

There’s a lot wrong in the world—just check the headlines. Our old way of dealing with these troubles was to rant about them, or ignore them, or numb our minds with substances.

Now we have a new way to change the world. We’re changing ourselves. One day at a time, we’re acting like the caring, responsible people we want to be. We use the ideas of the program in our lives.

We’re kinder. We’re more honest. We stand up for ourselves and for others who need our help.
 

Clouds and Rainbows

 

Our growth as women is contingent on our ability to flow with the dualities, the contradictions inherent in one's lifetime, not only to flow with them but also to capitalize on them.

We are not offered a painless existence, but we are offered opportunities for gathering perspective from the painful moments. And our perspectives are cushioned by the principles of the program. The rough edges of life, the storms that whip our very being, are gifts in disguise. We see life anew, when the storm has subsided.

We can enjoy the calm, if that surrounds us today. We deserve the resting periods. They give us a chance to contemplate and make fully our own that which the recent storm brought so forcefully to our attention. We are powerless over the storm's onslaught. But we can gain from it and be assured that the storm gives all the meaning there is in the calm.

I will be glad today for the clouds or the rainbows. Both are meant for my good. And without both, neither has meaning.

From Each Day a New Beginning: