From Survival to Recovery

[MajestyJo]

From Survival to Recovery p. 209)

The following excerpt reveals special gifts one may enjoy if she/he is willing to surrender to the spiritual discipline of the Twelve Steps.

1) We will become mature, responsible individuals with a great capacity for joy, fullfilment and wonder.

2) Though we may never be perfect, continued spiritual progress will reveal to us our enormous potential.

3) We will discover that we are both worthy of love and loving. We will love others without losing ourselves, and will learn to accept love in return.

4) Our sight, once clouded and confused, will clear and we will be able to perceive reality and recognize truth.

5) Courage and fellowship will replace fear.

6) We wil be able to risk failure to develop new, hidden talents.

7) Our lives, no matter how battered and degraded, will yield hope to share with others.

8) We will begin to feel and come to know the vastness of our emotions, but we will not be slaves to them.

9) Our secrets will no longer bind us in shame.

10) As we gain ability to forgive ourselves, our families, and the world, our choices will expand.

11) With dignity we will stand for ourselves, but not against our fellows.

12) Serenity and peace will have meaning for us as we allow our lives and the lives of others to flow day by day with God's ease, balance, and grace.

No longer terrified, we will discover we are free to delight in life's paradox, mystery and awe. We will laugh more. Fear will be replaced by faith, and gratitude will come naturally as we realize that our Higher Power is doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

Sometimes I forget that this is a one day at a time program. I need these posts just as much in today as I did when I was new. My memory isn't so good and in today, I have probably forgotten more than I remember.

It is nice to know that we no longer just have to survive and get by, we can recover and enjoy the gifts of sobriety (soundness of mind). I didn't have much serenity living with an alcoholic father, a mother addicted to food, a husband who had drinking issues, even though I could out drink him. I wasn't an alcoholic, I didn't like beers. In today, I have a son in active addiction. I am so grateful for the 12 Steps of recovery.