The 12th Step of Alcoholics Anonymous is, "Having had a spiritual
awakening as a result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to
alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs." This step
clearly places a responsibility upon us - but we cannot give away
that which we don't have. The "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous states, "We have recovered and
been given the power to help others." The power to help others is a
direct result of the spiritual awakening received in Step Twelve. Until one such spiritual awakening has occurred it is impossible for
it to occur in other alcoholics that we may be helping. Furthermore, once the Spirit has been awakened within us we cannot be in the will of
God without helping others.
We are gifted the power to carry the message to other alcoholics not only through
our words but by incorporating the principles of the Alcoholics
Anonymous program (the Twelve Steps) right into our lives, displaying them through our behavior. Once the spirit has been awakened in those we help then they themselves can lead a recovered life. These recovered alcoholics will then have the power to help
others in the way necessary, so that still others may recover from a
seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. Your gift can be a gift to others.
Years ago I was told that the greatest personal gift of recovery came from giving it away. Instinctively I knew this to be an ultimate truth. Practically, however, it eluded me. Even in sobriety, a low-level internal frustration existed - I wanted to give it away completely but I didn't completely have it to give away. The. I learned the not-so-secret sauce of recovery: knowing what The Twelve Steps said was far different from the experience of incorporating them into my daily life! The doors were opened, gradually then suddenly. Through that process and with the guidance of a recovered sponsor, The Gift came alive within me and The Power Within me directed me in a way whereby I became not only useful but truly meaningful to others. I was relieved of my limiting frustration and empowered with the gift of me. Now all that remains lies in the beauty of giving myself away, not only to still-suffering alcoholics but to the world. Today I am awakened and I am alive.
ReplyDeleteMichael As we spoke of earlier, frustration cannot exist in the will of God. Only love can be manifested in our behavior when we have surrendered our nature. Now you we give because we are no longer trapped by oue selfishness...Thank you...Armand
DeleteThrough the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous the Spirit has awakened from its slumbering state within me. I don't know when I shut it down - somewhere along the line in my using and drinking I forgot to care for anything or anyone else besides myself. It was only when I began to take the steps out of my human nature, out of misery, out of demise, out of my heartbroken and diseased mind and out of my bitter ego that I felt once more a superpower within me and all around me. The essence of love, the assembled patience and the wholeness of life came out of the reawakened Spirit. I had lived in ignorance to it for so long that once I accepted it and held fast to the hope it seeped I knew why I had been so lonely, so afraid, so unaware of life's magnificence. I am fortunate to have had that divine awareness prior to my disease taking over - but addiction is no match for the Divine, victory is there if it is sought through prayer, through meditation, and through the giving unto others that which has blessed and fallen upon me. I hope to spread the unequivocal results of my Experience so that those unaware of such Godliness can be made aware, and so those without a path can be given my shared strength to pave one.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin Addiction is no match for the divine All of the illness that exists in our human nature cannot be manifested in the will of God. Once recovered we are given the power to help others...Thank you...Armand
Delete