A friend of mine and I were talking today about our staying sober and all that it takes for us to do so. Part of that is still the First Step. Then there’s the Second Step and growing along spiritual lines. And then there’s the need for us to acquire a Higher Power in our lives. And that, in itself, is our need to be quiet.
We weren’t talking about our not praying, but our need to stay quiet, when talking to others. We both have learned from the BB and our sponsors that we’re not here to teach others about our beliefs. We had to come to understand that what we believe or are learning to is ours alone. I’m not here to preach or try to get others to believe what we do. The BB talks about this. I know that there are moments when I must stay silent.
We both learned that our beliefs are personal. I know that we can belong to a religion and practice whatever it is. On the other hand, when we’re in meetings, we’re not to discuss our beliefs. It’s one thing to mention the God of our understanding and not something specific. Often just our Higher Power.
It’s often necessary to mention our need to grow along spiritual lines. Like the BB tells us in that Ninth Step, that the spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it. But it’s not about the specifics in what we believe. It’s just what we have to learn to be open to. I know even atheists and agnostics, who have the need to grow in spiritual way of life, if we want to stay sober. Nothing specific.
Anyway we were talking about staying sober a day at a time. And this was the basic way we have in here, if we want to stay sober. At least that’s what we learned. Again, we only need to talk about staying sober and what is required of us to do this. Made both of us grateful.