We were talking about getting sober and staying sober as well as gratitude today. Really struck me, especially after I got home. That was because how I came to realize how grateful I really was.
Earlier in the day I was talking to one of my friends in this program and we were laughing and talking about things which come up in our lives. Things which tend to pull us off our thoughts about sobriety. Things which can hold us back, until someone pulls us off our pedestal and we get back on our feet.
What struck me was what has been going on for quite a while. Even though I may be aware of talking or working with others, I was suddenly made aware of how much of that is gratitude for all I have been given in this program. Just like my old sponsor and others made me aware of way back then, that one of the reasons we work with others is out of gratitude. I was amazed at how I had missed that recently.
I learned in here that I was to give away what was so freely given to me. My sobriety, in a sense. I was told that if I wanted to keep what I was given I would have to give it away. An act of gratitude. Thanks. And it has worked over and over again through the years in here. It makes me even more grateful than I can believe at times.
And I realize furthermore that this is part of practicing these spiritual principles in all of our affairs. Something I know I need to pay attention to. It’s the spiritual way of life which has solidified my sobriety for me. I have to remember that my first day of sobriety came to me as a result of the God of my understanding, my Higher Power, relieving me of the bondage of alcohol. The answer to my desperate prayer to stop me from drinking alcohol and living the life I was living. A total surrender. I never want to forget that and I am grateful for that over and over and over.
And here I am once again thinking and reminding myself of why I am here. I am here to stay sober a day at a time. But I also need to think about how it is that I have come to this point. And I need to be grateful for all I have been given. Amazing. Almost unbelievable when I stop and think about it. Almost takes my breath away.
And I am grateful to the God of my understanding. However I am also grateful to my old sponsor and all those who have helped me along the way. Which many are those, who have allowed me to reach out to them and share the Twelfth Step. Like I have often said, not just the new people, but many of those like myself, who have been sober in this program. They can’t even know how much they have helped me. Thanks.