Serenity is the absence of conflict in our thoughts. We who have committed ourselves to the program (the Twelve Steps) of Alcoholics Anonymous have deemed that it is the program itself which must come first in our lives. Alongside such a commitment comes a personal relationship with a supreme power, such as God. Living by these honorable ideals ushers the blessings of serenity into the stream of our lives - no matter what transpires.
In the Alcoholics Anonymous literature, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, such a paragon way of living is elucidated: "We are no longer frightened and purposeless. The moment we catch even a glimpse of God's will, the moment we begin to see truth, justice and love as the real and eternal things in life, we are no longer deeply disturbed by all the seeming evidence to the contrary that surrounds us in purely human affairs. We know that God lovingly watches over us."
By integrating the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous into our lives in such a way that they become our lives, and by manifesting the principles of those steps in our behavior, we have the opportunity to have safe and serene lives. Remembering that joy is not the absence of sorrow, but the presence of God … experience serenity we will.
It's not that we become untouchable or invincible. Our humanity remains susceptible to the strains and rigors of daily life. But we can live undisturbed. My experience is that to know peace is to desire to live in peace. As you point out, knowing peace for an alcoholic comes through the incorporation of The Twelve Steps into our lives until our human nature touches our divine nature in the presence of The Power Within us. It is only in that presence that I am completely safe and completely me. Living an undisturbed life is the reverse of the alcoholic life in which I continuingly suffered regardless of circumstances. I lived a suffering life. The gift of Recovery through The Twelve Steps as precisely defined in The Big Book is the ultimate gift. From suffering to serenity, regardless of circumstances.
ReplyDeleteMichael I don't know of anyone who came into AA on a winning streak. Incorporating the Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous into our life in such a way that it becomes our life can bring us as you write "from suffering to Serenity...Thank you...Armand
DeleteThis Comment Is From A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
ReplyDeleteArmand,
In Chapter 5 of the Big Book we read in pertinent part: "Remember that we deal with alcohol—cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power—that One is God. May you find Him now! Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon."
The program of AA clearly calls this Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic to surrender not to some impersonal metaphysical "supreme power," but to the person of God and God alone. Anything less than my "complete surrender" of all that I am to all that He is from the 3rd step on allows me to continue to entertain the psychotic delusion that I still somehow possess the leverage to negotiate the "terms and conditions of my surrender" with a god created out of the meandering muse of a pathological lier too well acquainted in the degenerate arts... It was, after all, my own "profound" understanding and designs that brought me to this desperate precipice. It is here, now and forever, that I must ask "His protection and care with complete abandon." It is here I begin to become a new creation. It is here I turn to a Person, receive a Person and embrace a Person who's name, I have discovered, is Jesus Christ...
Now, I know all too well that His name is offensive to many. At one time it was undeniably offensive to me. Curiously, there was nary a shudder when I spoke of a God concept with anyone willing to do so yet, I bristled at the very mention of the name of Jesus... Why? Because I inherently knew He was a real Person. I knew He paid a terrible price for all I had done. And I knew He did so because He loved me with a love that was beyond my comprehension. And I knew this degree of love was inconceivable to me and justly so because it was born in the heart of God. I rejected who He was because of what I desired to continue to be. He knew all along His love for me and desire for me to live fully in peace and serenity was beyond my capability to accept. Yet, when desperation had stripped away all of my appetites. When death was the only viable option left to consider, He met me at the precipice and by His grace I entered through His door.
Simply put, This Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic is incapable of generating the serenity spoken of in the Big Book. Never could, never will. Serenity, is a gift of God to all who "humble themselves and seek His face and turn from their wicked ways, For then His eyes shall be open and His ears attentive to the prayers of this place. And thus", He says, "I shall grant you a time of refreshment". That, my brother, is serenity.
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic.
a Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic well said. thank you...Armand
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