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i am so grateful that the only requirement for membership is a desire to stay clean!
when i got to the place i was actually ready to maybe consider becoming a member, the last thing i wanted was stringent membership requirements. although i mistook suggestions for requirements, i still kept coming around because i had read the 3rd tradition on the wall.
over the course of my brief journey through recovery, i myself, have often judged my program on what i was and was not doing and wondering if there was something i was missing and if i needed to do something more to become a permanent member. i know today that just having the desire is enough to be a member, BUT if i desire more than membership, such as learning how to live, then there is so much more that i need to do. if i want serenity, happiness, acceptance, self-esteem and spiritual growth, i must attend a few meetings, work the steps with a sponsor, do a bit of service, establish and maintain a relationship with a Power Greater than me and ask for suggestions on how to live the program. none of these are exactly easy for me, but the path is simple -- if i want to get the gifts i see, i must do the work -- PERIOD. so here i am today pondering the meaning of my recovery and gratefully accepting that for me this is the only path to happiness.
∞ DT ∞