Pressure. Pressure and tensions. Now there’s a formula just loaded with trouble. A formula that has led to trouble of all sorts. The worst one is to lead us to a drink.
I was talking to a friend of mine last night and he told me about some extreme pressure he is under. He said he was suffering from extreme tension as the result of this. My first temptation, as he explained his situation, was to get involved in trying to help him solve his predicament. As I listened, my mind was scrambling for an answer, and just as suddenly I realized that I was powerless to do anything to fix it.
And then the answer came. We all have to go through this kind of stuff, some more frequently than others. It’s not what’s in the details which was important, but how we can stay sober, when we feel helpless and overwhelmed. Many of us, including those who went before us, have had to face all kinds of troubles, which have not only seemed catastrophic, but have often led to defeat of some sort.
I was reading the seventh step yesterday morning and I ran across the words “self reliance”. As I sat and thought about those words, I came to realize how often I am guilty of that. How often I think I can solve things by my own thinking. Somehow I believe that I can figure things out on my own unaided strength alone. The passage in the 12&12 reminded me that just so long as I do that a working faith is impossible. I forget who’s in charge. I’m supposed to be doing God’s will and not mine.
So, I did just what my sponsor did for me. He would not try to give me a solution to the problem I was faced with, but would offer me a spiritual solution. He would lead me back to the steps and the BB and show me how this program works no matter what was going on in my life. He would show me a way out of what was bothering me at the time and lead me into a way of peace of mind and serenity; a way to walk through my problems without having to pick up a drink. He was showing me how to practice the twelfth step and these principles in all of my affairs.
That’s exactly what I did for my friend. I have no idea how things will work out. I’m not in charge. But, I do know that if he follows what this program offers us, he can stay sober and live a better life as a result.
Anway, I couldn’t help but think of this today.
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