Interesting meeting for me and a lot of people today. It was about serenity and staying sober. Almost the same subject.
If we work this program and stay sober, serenity follows. Without sobriety there is no serenity. So my first job is to stay sober. That means the Twelve Steps. But, not just the Steps, it’s the whole program. To me that means to attend meetings and participate. Sharing and listening. Listening to learn. It means being willing to share and give this program away to others. Neither looking for success in trying to help someone get sober or thanks. Freely giving what was freely given.
Of course all of this is based on a spiritual way of life. And, if I’m practicing this way of life on a daily basis, seeking contact and a relationship with my Higher Power, I have found a spiritual awakening(s). The Promises in the Ninth Step. A new freedom and a new happiness, and, we are told, we will comprehend the word serenity and come to know peace.
However it is in living a day at a time, having faith in and relying on my Higher Power, the Serenity Prayer, that I have come to know serenity. That quiet, peaceful, way of life I never knew anything about before I came here. And believe me there was a lot I never knew anything about before I came here. Still my serenity depends on the maintenance of my spiritual condition.
And there’s the rub. My imperfections, my humanity, stepping into the picture, that’s when I lose contact with the state of being serene. When I let my emotions move in and take charge, I’m in a wobbly place and serenity is lost for the moment. Mainly, when I lose my temper. When irritation leads to anger and I stop minding my own business and get caught up in the problems and business of others. When I lose awareness of my Higher Power in my life and rely only on myself to get something done I should have left alone.
But being willing to right the wrongs in my life and in me changes all of that and peace and serenity are possible again. When I remember to return to my primary purpose, to stay sober and help another alcoholic, and put that first in front of everything else in my life, I’m back on the path again. Remembering that the solution to all my problems is spiritual and trying to apply spiritual principles in the way I live this life. And that means what it said in the BB, that eternal vigilance is the price of sobriety. Being aware and paying attention.
Anyway, after a rather busy day it was good for me to sit down and think about all of this. It makes me grateful for what I have.