The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
Todays reading is a focus on the steps and how they can help us take action in our lives. The writer describes step 5 and its suggestion for giving an order to our actions. Steps 1-3 help us build a relationship with the God of our understanding. We then work at becoming at peace with ourselves: the one we wake up, live and go to sleep with each day. We are stifled if we are controlled by guilt, fear and resentment and ignore our gifts. Steps 4-7 help us to know and accept ourselves. We can then act with responsibility toward others. We can heal any guilt and resentment we feel by taking a personal inventory and and making amends toward others when possible. Steps 8-12 help us acknowledge our past and work toward a stronger future.
The first time I worked through the steps with my sponsor I was relying very heavily on the order of things. I am a list maker, and am calmed by checking things off lists. Going through the steps the first time was like checking off a list for me that is to say, I didnt delve nearly as deeply as I did the second or third time through. Now I find myself thinking of the steps on a daily basis, but not necessarily in an order. Did someone i care about benefit from knowing something more about alanon? That might be step 12. Did I spend an hour perseverating over a situation that happened 15 years ago? That might be me needing to spend time on step 1. The steps have helped provide order in the chaos that alcoholism thrives in.
the quotation from One Day at a Time in Al-Anon (p141) reminds us The steps are a guide to total good living.
I am also a list maker, and take comfort in checking off my list. It makes it easier to see that I have accomplished something... especially when the chaos of life (or a loved one's addiction) has the upper hand. I spent quite a long time on Steps 1-3. First, I was "at odds" with God. I learned how to re-envision my Higher Power - that took some time. Then I had to come to ACCEPTANCE and learn how to Let Go. Those two things took way longer IMHO. It wasn't until I did my fourth 4th Step (with a specific workbook) that I really began to SEE and ACCEPT myself - a huge step forward for me!!
Now I find it pretty easy to apply Al-Anon principles in my everyday life. I am so grateful for this! Especially now, as Life is more difficult on several levels. For me now, the Steps are also not in "order." But that is OK for me! That is also something I can accept!
I think I have healed enough from my fall to be able to work in the yard today... this makes me happy! Hope everyone finds their JOY today!
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"The wolf that thrives, is the one you feed." - Cherokee legend
"Hello, sun in my face. Hello you who made the morning and spread it over the fields... Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness." Mary Oliver
