I couldn’t help but think today how much, we who have been blessed with recovering from a fatal illness, like alcoholism, owe so much to others like ourselves. A number of incidents over the past few days have made me more aware of this than ever before.
The thought that we are here to help others came more strongly to me today. To reach out and, if nothing else, send or speak encouraging words to those who are suffering in one way or another. To speak a prayer on their behalf. I know that this turns my whole day around and gets me out of thinking only of me.
What can I say to a man suffering from too much guilt? What can I offer to people who are in acute pain from suffering the loss of others in their lives? What can I tell someone, who is suffering from a grave illness? What can I say to those, who are suffering from a broken heart? What have others done for me, when I was in similar circumstances?
This stuff has been injected into my consciousness unexpectedly. It has been drifting in all week and I am becoming acutely aware of its presence. It reminds me of what Bill W. said, that nothing more will insure our sobriety than working with others. But it’s more than that. It’s about practicing these principles in all our affairs. What principles? For one thing, what was so freely given to me, I must freely give to others. And what was given to me? A whole lot of patience and understanding. A whole lot of charity and love, when I was so unloveable. A whole lot of support to get me back on my feet and well again. Hands reaching out to welcome me and hold me up.
Can I give consolation where it is needed? Are there any suggestions, from my own experience, that I can pass along to someone who needs them? And, as powerless as I am, can I take a moment and remain silent in prayer and meditation for the welfare of someone who needs at least my thoughts? Maybe just a smile or a cheerful word of encouragement. Even a joke to make someone laugh and possibly help them forget their problems for a moment.
Anyway, I just had to stop and think about these things. Not just to think, but to get out of myself and take some action. The example was given to me a long time ago and I still experience this in my life today. I hear and see it from the mouths and actions of others like myself. How can I do less?
I was thinking, this is what it means to be sober.