"Once you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."
I've always heard that alcoholism is a disease of perception. For example, when I first got sober I kept hearing that it was a disease, but I never really saw it that way. Once I started to work my program and learned more about it though, I began to look at it differently, and sure enough it changed! I now see it as the disease it is.
As I continued to work my steps and recovery, I began changing the way I looked at a lot of things and they, too, began to change. For example, my past used to be a source of shame and regret, but when I looked at it as a source of experience, strength and hope that I could use to help another, my feelings about it changed as well. Looking at it this way, I gained a new appreciation for it and my very past seemed to change as well.
Today I know that every situation in life is open to interpretation depending on how I choose to look at it. To help me gain perspective, I sometimes pretend I'm part of a debating club and have been assigned the task of building a case for the opposite point of view. Forcing myself to look at something differently changes my opinion and, seemingly, the thing itself.
It always comes back to how I look at things. Once I change that, everything else changes as well.
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Copyright @ 2013 Michael Z
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
How true! I remember coming into the halls of AA. My perception at that time was: "this is the woarst thing that's ever happened to me. I'm done, life will no longer mean anything or be fun." After going through The Steps and gaining conscious contact with a Higher Power(God) and practicing the principles in all my affairs, my perception change. The Promises materialized and this is the greatest thing that could've happened to me. Go figure! Once again, I don't know what's best for me. God does though. I think I'll let him run the show.
