Daily Reprieve

From Today’s Daily Reflections;

We find that no one need have difficulty with the spirituality of the program.  Willingness, honesty and open-mindedness are the essentials of recovery.  But these are indispensable.   (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 568)

Am I honest enough to accept myself as I am and let this be the “me” that I let others see? Do I have the willingness to go to any length, to do whatever is necessary to stay sober?  Do I have the open mindedness to hear what I have to hear, to think what I have to think, and to feel what I have to feel?

If my answer to these questions is “Yes,” I know enough about the spirituality of the program to stay sober. As I continue to work the Twelve Steps, I move on to the heart of true sobriety: serenity with myself, with others, and with God as I understand Him.

END OF QUOTE

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An interesting implication of today’s Daily Reflection is that there are things I have to hear, thoughts I have to think, and feelings I have to feel in order to obtain sobriety.  I cannot block them out with old ways that have reinforced my alcoholism.   This requires that I develop open-mindedness.  Another implication is that my honest self-appraisal must move from internal acceptance to public exposure, which can be a very scary prospect.

The final implication for me is one I have often heard, and that is that our willingness must be translated to actions motivated by a desperation to stay sober above all other concerns.  Sobriety is not just a good idea for me, it is life and death.  It is the most essential idea in this spiritual heart transplant.

This entry was posted on July 2, 2014 at 8:49 am and is filed under Uncategorized with tags Addiction, Alcoholism, Journal, Life, Personal, Recovery, Spirituality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.