MajestyJo
01-06-2011, 06:27 PM
When I have phoned my sponsor and gotten myself into a dither, she would always say, "Go back to basics. First things first. What is a priority here?"
Basics for me is what I call the One, Two, Three Waltz. I can't, God can, just for today, I choose to let Him.
It means to get honest iwth myself as to what is really going on. What am I fearful of? What am I not doing? Is my mind closed about something? Am I not willing to change and learn a new lesson. Am I not willing move to the next Step. Am I procrastinating about doing something that needs doing?
Am I willing to go to any length to maintain my sobriety? Am I willing to let go and Let God. Have I asked Him or taken Him for granted. Have I paid lip service to Him and gone and done it my way or not waited for His answer.
How long did it take to call my sponsor? How long since I have been to a meeting? How long since I connected with another alcoholic?
Did I apply the Step to the situation? Do I need more than one Step to heal the situation? Have a broken a Tradition? Am I living the Traditions to break one?
Have I reached out and shared with someone else? Have I been so caught up in self that I have no time for others. Am I so caught up in others that I have not taken time for myself?
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Am I trying to intellectualize and figure things out. Am I not willing to say, "I don't know" and just carry on pretending that I am the great I am and know everything there is to know about recovery. I need to remember to take the words off the pages and apply them to myself and share them with others.
I can't be all things to all people, especially when I can't be there for myself. I can't give away what I don't have.
As my sponsor told me many years ago, when you are sharing your story in front of a room or around the table, if you hit a blank, if you find yourself humming and hawing and trying to think of what to say next, it is time to shut up and sit down. When you do that, you are no longer a channel and carrying God's message, you are carrying your own and saying what you think you should say.
Before I share, I try to say the Third Step Prayer and Seventh Step Prayers to get out of God's way so He can speak through me instead of around me.
I always ask for my truth and for my own knowingness, what is good for me. When I do, I will hear what I need to hear. It will be given to me.
Thanks for letting me share.
Basics for me is what I call the One, Two, Three Waltz. I can't, God can, just for today, I choose to let Him.
It means to get honest iwth myself as to what is really going on. What am I fearful of? What am I not doing? Is my mind closed about something? Am I not willing to change and learn a new lesson. Am I not willing move to the next Step. Am I procrastinating about doing something that needs doing?
Am I willing to go to any length to maintain my sobriety? Am I willing to let go and Let God. Have I asked Him or taken Him for granted. Have I paid lip service to Him and gone and done it my way or not waited for His answer.
How long did it take to call my sponsor? How long since I have been to a meeting? How long since I connected with another alcoholic?
Did I apply the Step to the situation? Do I need more than one Step to heal the situation? Have a broken a Tradition? Am I living the Traditions to break one?
Have I reached out and shared with someone else? Have I been so caught up in self that I have no time for others. Am I so caught up in others that I have not taken time for myself?
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Am I trying to intellectualize and figure things out. Am I not willing to say, "I don't know" and just carry on pretending that I am the great I am and know everything there is to know about recovery. I need to remember to take the words off the pages and apply them to myself and share them with others.
I can't be all things to all people, especially when I can't be there for myself. I can't give away what I don't have.
As my sponsor told me many years ago, when you are sharing your story in front of a room or around the table, if you hit a blank, if you find yourself humming and hawing and trying to think of what to say next, it is time to shut up and sit down. When you do that, you are no longer a channel and carrying God's message, you are carrying your own and saying what you think you should say.
Before I share, I try to say the Third Step Prayer and Seventh Step Prayers to get out of God's way so He can speak through me instead of around me.
I always ask for my truth and for my own knowingness, what is good for me. When I do, I will hear what I need to hear. It will be given to me.
Thanks for letting me share.