From Courage to Change of Nov 12:
I’m not particularly handy with tools. Recently a friend demonstrated to me that oiling a saw before using it makes it work more smoothly, whether it’s cutting metal or wood.
Later it occurred to me that learning to oil a saw is a little like learning to apply the Al-Anon program. Though skeptical, I considered learning a new way because I saw it demonstrated. I knew that the program worked when I saw how serenely Al-Anon members in circumstances similar to mine were coping with difficult situations. So I tried their approach – I learned to apply the Steps, Al-Anon literature, slogans, meetings, and sponsorship.
Using this oil doesn’t change the raw materials of my life, nor does it provide me with new equipment. It does make what I already have more useful, and that removes many of my frustrations, giving me great satisfaction.
Today’s Reminder
Building a useful and fulfilling life is not an easy task. Al-Anon helps me learn more effective ways of living so that I can avoid needless difficulty. With the proper tools, progress is just a matter of practice.
“You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; and just so you learn to love God and man by loving. Begin as a mere apprentice and the very power of love will lead you on to become a master of the art.”
~ Francis de Sales
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NOTE: Francis de Sales (1567–1622) was a Catholic bishop, writer, mystic, spiritual director, and later a Doctor of the Church, known especially for his gentle, psychologically insightful approach to the spiritual life. Even if you don’t identify with Catholicism, his work has influenced centuries of contemplatives, writers, and seekers because of his warmth, clarity, and deeply human understanding of the soul.
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I’ve never been impressed by people bragging about being “handy” with tools.
Most of us swing the damn saw like we’re trying to punish the wood for existing.
We push harder, curse louder, and wonder why the blade binds and the cut goes crooked.
But the truth is embarrassing in its simplicity:
the work fights you because you never bothered to oil the blade.
That’s how my life operated for years —
raw force, no technique, and a kind of “holy stubbornness” that mistook suffering for virtue.
I kept trying to dominate the materials of my existence instead of learning how they move.
I will oil myself with humility.
Daily Reprieve 
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