I learned a long time ago that a problem shared is a problem cut in half. That’s what my sponsor told me and he demonstrated the truth of that over and over again with me.
I listened to a couple of people today, who had some very deep and frustrating problems and I thought about what I had learned. Of course I had seen this again and again through the years. Both from my sharing problems with others and them with me. After each time I did this, I could feel the relief coming, despite the fact that I didn’t have the answer as of yet.
What a great tool for ones like us, who might be tempted to drink because of our frustrations. The sharing instantly takes away that heavy pressure we seem to be suffering from. The burden of carrying these things around in our heads has been lightened by the very fact we get them out of heads and into the open. The negative has now begun to turn toward a positive direction. The dark mildew in our head is now out in the sunlight to die.
Moreover, I have found, that all the other spiritual tools in this program can now come into play. There’s now room to move around within in me. I’m no longer cramped and unable to move, as I once was. Weighed down and crushed by a seemingly impossible dilemma. There is hope, where there was once agonizing despair.
This formula for dealing with my problems has possibly saved me from thinking about a drink as a solution. I know that, if I really want to stay sober, that relief is just a moment away. All I have to do is drum up the willingness and do what’s right in front of me.
Share with another alcoholic. When I do, I get what I need. That’s the moment I can turn my self serving foxhole prayer into what I have been taught. To seek and do the will of God.
I was thinking about this when I came home today. And I remembered it’s just for today. Another sober day.