"I was lucky," a man explained to me. "One of my first mentors in life made me practice serenity. Whenever I'd call him in full-blown panic mode or with that frantic tone in my voice, he'd refuse to talk to me until I calmed myself down.
"'Go get centered,' he'd tell me. 'Then we'll talk.'" Sometimes we need help working through our panic, anxiety, and fear. Find someone to talk to who will support serenity, rather than feed anxiety. Learn to recognize turmoil and urgency in your body, speech, emotions, and thought. Learn what it feels like to be centered and calm. Practicing serenity is a learned behavior and an art.
Action:
When you find yourself in turmoil, stop what you are doing. Take deliberate steps to relax. Talk to a friend, say the Serenity Prayer or any favorite prayer, breathe, meditate, feel any emotions you need to feel. Calming yourself may feel awkward at first, nearly impossible. (Some people may need professional help to deal with anxiety and panic, if it's chronic and continual.) Over time and with practice, you will discover ways to calm yourself, the way a loving parent learns to calm a fretting child.
I wrote to Wagon earlier that I needed my Higher Power almost every day. I should have said that I need God to help me when that overwhelming desire to drink comes almost every day.
Beyond that, I need that "Divine Presence" in my life almost every minute of every day. Meditation/prayer, which is sometimes just repeating the Serenity Prayer, is essential to dealing with daily angers, frustrations, and fears. If I let those negative thoughts become foremost in my mind, they can crowd out my number one priority, staying sober.
Hey sick I wondered about that almost every day. I need it each and every day!! Some days are tougher than others. Feel real good the last few, now will it last?? I hope so.
