Life will take on a new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you. to have a host of friends - this is an experience you must not miss. . . . Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is the bright spot of our lives. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 89
It is through service that the greatest rewards are to be found. But to be in a position of offering true, useful and effective service to others, I must first work on myself. This means that I have to abandon myself to God, admitting my faults and clearing away the wreckage of my past. Work on myself has taught me how to find the necessary peace and serenity to successfully merge inspiration and experience. I have learned how to be, in the truest sense, an open channel of sobriety.
__________________
* We eventually realize that just as the pains of alcoholism had to come before sobriety, emotional turmoil comes before serenity. *
'It is through service that the greatest rewards are to be found. But to be in a position of offering true, useful and effective service to others I must first work on myself."
This is a really key phrase and concept. So many that are doing the various 12 Step programs get very self-centered,, misunderstanding the concepts of 'detachment', 'letting go', and 'keep the focus on yourself'. Even though there are the statements that say 'this is a we program', and that we learn how to love (they think it is only to love themselves). We are supposed to help others,,, but here is the thing we must work on ourselves to be able to really help others.
I have sincerely tried to help others all my life, but often didn't know how,, and the attempts that I made sometimes made things worse instead of better,,, as I did what I thought was good for them and tried to fix them according to what I thought was perfect for them, and got very controlling so that they would do what I thought was right. And really what I thought was just what I thought,, and now,, I don't even think the same things all of the time. Now, I'm more into Step 11 - what does God think instead of what I think,, what does God want instead of what I want for that person or myself,, and praying that God inspire the other person too,,, and then to listen for that person's perspectives and try to understand and respect them even if I don't understand.
amanda
__________________
do your best and God does the rest, a step at a time
