Today is August 12, 2006 A Great Day for Recovery!
LIFE
"The tragedy of life is what dies in man while he lives." -- Albert Schweitzer
Addiction progressively takes away the vitality of life. It robs life of meaning. Addiction isolates; it kills by atrophy. People, places and things lose meaning; everything becomes a chore and God is lost. We say to compensate that we are having "fun" --- we say this a lot and at times we believe it, but in the silence of the night we know it to be a lie.
We lie to others and to ourselves. Sometimes we believe the lie! At this point we begin to die unless we take courage and confront "the lie" in order to live.
Today I live because I confronted my lie. I have discovered the spiritual power that was buried deep beneath the progressive addiction. And I am finding it easier and less painful to live.
May I continue to breathe a daily "yes" in my life so that I might live.
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A LOOK BACKWARD
First, we take a look backward and try to discover where we have been at fault; next we make a vigorous attempt to repair the damage we have done; . . . TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 77
As a traveler on a fresh and exciting A.A. journey of recovery, I experienced a newfound peace of mind and the horizon appeared clear and bright, rather than obscure and dim. Reviewing my life to discover where I had been at fault seemed to be such an arduous and dangerous task. It was painful to pause and look backward. I was afraid I might stumble! Couldn't I put the past out of my mind and just live in my new golden present? I realized that those in the past whom I had harmed stood between me and my desire to continue my movement toward serenity. I had to ask for courage to face those persons from my life who still lived in my conscience, to recognize and deal with the guilt that their presence produced in me. I had to look at the damage I had done, and become willing to make amends. Only then could my journey of the spirit resume.
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Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain.
