Today our group talked about the Eleventh Step and spirituality. It was a good meeting. But the thoughts running through my mind, like a few others, was what it took to develop spirituality in here. And that was, for me, the Second Step, which began this way of life for me.
I know, when my old sponsor got me to open the BB and read that Second Step, it hit me right between the eyes. That statement in there, which pointed out that we could enter a spiritual life, or drink again and die an alcoholic death. I had no doubt that was true, so I stepped back and became willing to do this. And that brought the Higher Power into my life. It changed everything for me in here.
And that opened the door to the Third Step. Being willing to turn my life and my thoughts over to the God of my understanding. To be open to do God’s will in this program. To settle down and be open to staying sober a day at a time and work the rest of these Steps in here.
As I have gone through all of this, imperfectly, except for the one hundred surrender in the First Step, I keep running across some thoughts, which relate us to why we are here and on the road to the Eleventh and Twelfth Steps. And one of those is in that Ninth Step. That the spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it.
Hopefully I have tried to live this way, but I really never feel that I am spiritual. My thoughts go back to my old sponsor and those old timers, who reminded me that I can stay sober until the day I die, but along the way, right up until the end I will tumble, stumble, and fumble over my negative emotions and my defects. And, as they were able to point out to me, that I did. And I had to turn back to my Higher Power and ask for help and to pick myself up and change from the negative to the positive. I know that all this is true.
I’ll stop for now and give thanks for all the help I have received along the way from my Higher Power, and all those in here, who have reached out and helped me along the line. Makes me very grateful and I know I need to express thanks. One of those is the compassion I need to freely give to others, what was so freely given to me. Thanks.