Daily Reprieve

From the Daily Reflections of December 20;

This is indeed the kind of giving that actually demands nothing. He does not expect his brother sufferer to pay him, or even to love him. And then he discovers that by the divine paradox of this kind of giving he has found his own reward, whether his brother has yet received anything or not.   (Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 109).

Through experience with Twelfth Step work, I came to understand the rewards of giving that demands nothing in return. At first I expected recovery in others, but I soon learned that this did not happen. Once I acquired the humility to accept the fact that every Twelfth Step call was not going to result in a success, then I was open to receive the rewards of selfless giving.

END OF QUOTE

————————————–

The goal of my recovery is to be able to give without the fear of being diminished.  Normally I would need to know that I will be appreciated, loved, and respected for the success of my activities.  This is the life of isolated self exaltation.  This is how I protected myself from being drained by any attempt to help others.  In recovery I am guaranteed nothing but connection within the Fellowship and with my Higher Power.  I can now enjoy a secret empowerment that allows me to risk giving without ensuring reward.  In this endeavor, I am in union with an infinitely powerful and loving Spirit, my Gomu (God of my understanding).

From the Daily Reflections of December 19;

When dealing with an alcoholic, there may be a natural annoyance that a man could be so weak, stupid and irresponsible. Even when you understand the malady better, you may feel this feeling rising.   (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 139)

Having suffered from alcoholism, I should understand the illness, but sometimes I feel annoyance, even contempt, toward a person who cannot make it in A.A. When I feel that way, I am satisfying my false sense of superiority and I must remember, but for the grace of God, there go I.

END OF QUOTE

——————————————–

I have been that weak, stupid, and irresponsible individual who has ridden the relapse rodeo in recovery. It is hard to learn to trust my own mind when I tell myself that I am indeed alcoholic when I have been so good at lying to myself in the past.  It is hard to lose faith in the chemical deliverance from the places I get locked into such as depression or boredom.  It is hard to remember the terrible consequences of the past when I tend to exaggerate or manufacture the miseries of the present. Now that I have overcome a hopeless state of mind and body. and know what I need to do to stay sober and make progress toward emotional stability, may I become better at giving away what I have acquired to those who still suffer.

(Clickable Image)

From the Daily Reflections of December 17;

. . . work with other alcoholics. . . . It works when other activities fail.   (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 89)

“Life will take on new meaning,” as the Big Book says (p. 89). This promise has helped me to avoid self-seeking and self-pity. To watch others grow in this wonderful program, to see them improve the quality of their lives, is a priceless reward for my effort to help others. Self-examination is yet another reward for an ongoing recovery, as are serenity, peace and contentment. The energy derived from seeing others on a successful path, of sharing with them the joys of the journey, gives to my life a new meaning.

END OF QUOTE

———————————————————

Another human face caught in an alcoholic tragedy is a reflection of my own past struggles.  When I seek to help them, I reach back in time and validate those efforts that brought recovery into my own life.  The opposite effect occurs when I ignore those still suffering.  This is the paradox of the self-preserving altruism practiced in the 12 Step program.

From the Daily Reflections of December 16;

. . . nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. . . .

Both you and the new man must walk day by day in the path of spiritual progress. . . . Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!   (Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 89, 100)

Doing the right things for the right reasons — this is my way of controlling my selfishness and self centeredness. I realize that my dependency on a Higher Power clears the way for peace of mind, happiness and sobriety. I pray each day that I will avoid my previous actions, so that I will be helpful to others.

END OF QUOTE

—————————————–

 (Photo by Tommy Clark; Click Image)

This pursuit of sobriety cannot and was never meant to be a solitary journey.  I see a counselor to resist falling too long into depression.  She recommended that I see the following TED talk.  I will share it with you:

From the Daily Reflections of December 15;

Offer him [the alcoholic] friendship and fellowship. Tell him that if he wants to get well you will do anything to help.   (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 95)

I remember how attracted I was to the two men from A.A. who Twelfth-Stepped me. They said I could have what they had, with no conditions attached, that all I had to do was make my own decision to join them on the pathway to recovery. When I start convincing a newcomer to do things my way, I forget how helpful those two men were to me in their open-minded generosity.

END OF QUOTE

————————————— When your will has been broken, your mind has been turned against you, and your heart has been humiliated into paralysis you become the animated corpse of horror movies.  This is what alcohol summoned into my life.  The assertion that alcohol finally “beat us into a state of reasonableness,” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 48) is a cruel understatement of the situation. I was a mess coming into the rooms.

The will of my Higher Power, the mind of the 12 Steps, and the heart of the Fellowship acted as life support in early recovery.  The open-minded generosity that the Reflections contributor spoke of lured me back to life.  I was introduced to the paradox that surrender brought empowerment, and I desperately needed spiritual power.

How could I not want to do anything possible to help other sufferers as they first walk through the door?  It is only a lingering fear that prevents me.  And fear must be faced and overcome for me to continue to freely live.  I either grow or shrink.  Spiritual life is not a defensive war.  The casualties of alcoholism and addiction are real.  I will do anything to help.

From the Daily Reflections of December 14;

Never talk down to an alcoholic from any moral or spiritual hilltop; simply lay out the kit of spiritual tools for his inspection. Show him how they worked with you.   (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 95)

When I come into contact with a newcomer, do I have a tendency to look at him from my perceived angle of success in A.A.? Do I compare him with the large number of acquaintances I have made in the Fellowship? Do I point out to him in a magisterial way the voice of A.A.? What is my real attitude toward him? I must examine myself whenever I meet a newcomer to make sure that I am carrying the message with simplicity, humility and generosity. The one who still suffers from the terrible disease of alcoholism must find in me a friend who will allow him to get to know the A.A. way, because I had such a friend when I arrived in A.A. Today it is my turn to hold out my hand, with love, to my sister or brother alcoholic, and to show her or him the way to happiness.

END OF QUOTE

————————————

The admonition to “never talk down to an alcoholic” presumes that I am talking to an active alcoholic.  “When I come into contact with a newcomer” assumes that I am going to come into contact with a newcomer and interact.  The ultimate moral or religious hilltop (read isolating pride) is to withdraw from the efforts of the Fellowship while it interacts with newcomers and engages those still suffering from alcoholism, because I have recovered.  It is the ultimate state of personal arrogance when my own recovery is the only goal of my attendance in meetings.  How can I grow in humility and spirituality if I don’t risk reaching out?  If I am not finding the opportunity to grow, I will surrender to the tendency to shrink and fade.

From the Daily Reflections of December 13;

Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs.   (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 20)

Thinking of others has never come easily to me. Even when I try to work the A.A. program, I’m prone to thinking, “How do I feel today. Am I happy, joyous and free?”

The program tells me that my thoughts must reach out to those around me: “Would that newcomer welcome someone to talk to?” “That person looks a little unhappy today, maybe I could cheer him up.” It is only when I forget my problems, and reach out to contribute something to others that I can begin to attain the serenity and God-consciousness I seek.

END OF QUOTE

———————————-

“The constant thought of others and how we may meet their needs” seems like a tall order, and a formula for co-dependent manipulation.  My attempts to help others while in a state of selfish isolation does not work. For me to think of others requires a relinquishment of habitual fear and a growing trust in my God.  I need that connection to stay sober.  Such an obsession of praying and seeking to be useful is the path to greater empowerment in my own life.

From the Daily Reflections of December 12;

The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from alcoholism.   (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 17)

The most far-reaching Twelfth Step work was the publication of our Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Few can equal that book for carrying the message. My idea is to get out of myself and simply do what I can. Even if I haven’t been asked to sponsor and my phone rarely rings, I am still able to do Twelfth Step work. I get involved in “brotherly and harmonious action.” At meetings I show up early to greet people and to help set up, and to share my experience, strength and hope. I also do what I can with service work. My Higher Power gives me exactly what He wants me to do at any given point in my recovery and, if I let Him, my willingness will bring Twelfth Step work automatically.

END OF QUOTE

—————————————-

I believe in the value of 12th Step work.  It is a reminder of something that is so easy to forget once the consequences of my past drinking fade. Active alcoholism is hell.  It is dangerous and humiliating.

The many manifestations of the 12th Step are a very practical and concrete way of living out the ideals of the principals and translating my spiritual tools from theory to skill.  It causes me to connect with my Higher Power as I emulate His actions of loving intervention and presence.

Finally, it is a worthy activity that can be used to build intimacy between me and my recovery Fellowship.  The one thing I lack is the consistent courage to overcome my social anxiety and stay with the process.  I am working on it, and I am thankful anytime I am apart of the solution and not the problem.

From the Daily Reflections of December 11;

. . . we are actually to practice a genuine humility. This is to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over us all.   (Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 192)

Experience has taught me that my alcoholic personality tends to be grandiose. While having seemingly good intentions, I can go off on tangents in pursuit of my “causes.” My ego takes over and I lose sight of my primary purpose. I may even take credit for God’s handiwork in my life. Such an overstated feeling of my own importance is dangerous to my sobriety and could cause great harm to A.A. as a whole.

My safeguard, the Twelfth Tradition, serves to keep me humble. I realize, both as an individual and as a member of the Fellowship, that I cannot boast of my accomplishments, and that “God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.”

END OF QUOTE

————————————-

In the military, we had a saying; “stay in your lane.”  This was a reference to our time on the firing range.  Soldiers are lined up with a particular firing lane with its own particular target. Sometimes a soldier will get confused, lose focus and fire at the targets meant for the soldier next to him.  That soldier’s targets would not be hit and his neighbors targets would be riddled.  Both lanes would be corrupted and of no value in evaluating the firing skill of either soldier.

The phrase “stay in your lane” was generalized to mean that every service member has their own place of service.  Genuine humility helps me stay focused on my own particular targets.  I acknowledge my place, and my dependence on trusting others to know theirs.  Humility for me is thus a special kind of trust in Gomu (God of my understanding) and my Fellows in recovery.

From the Daily Reflections of December 10;

Now, what about the rest of the Twelfth Step? The wonderful energy it releases and the eager action by which it carries our message to the next suffering alcoholic and which finally translates the Twelve Steps into action upon all our affairs is the payoff, the magnificent reality, of Alcoholics Anonymous.   (Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 109)

To renounce the alcoholic world is not to abandon it, but to act upon principles I have come to love and cherish, and to restore in others who still suffer the serenity I have come to know. When I am truly committed to this purpose, it matters little what clothes I wear or how I make a living. My task is to carry the message, and to lead by example, not design.

END OF QUOTE

——————————————–

There is vocabulary here that I am not familiar.  I can imagine that to “renounce the alcoholic world” is to experience the complete psychic change after losing all faith in the notion that alcohol can provide any kind of lasting solution to the problems of my life.

The other phrases that I find more interesting is “the wonderful energy” of the 12th Step releases, the reality that “it carries our message to the next suffering alcoholic,” and finally, “the magnificent reality” that the message gets translated into action upon all our affairs.

I look forward to experiencing this progressive magic in my own life.