โ i have to care โ
Posted: Thu, Sep 22, 2016 07:29:16 AM
yes, i am one of those who actually does most of the recommended stuff on a daily basis. whether it is because i am OCD, driven by habit and ritual or because i actually see value in doing that it does not matter, i just do it and any further commenting on what i do every day, is probably bragging, this morning. the fact is, i am clean today and whether or not it is because i follow a fairly strict routine, or GOD's will, really does not matter.
the biggest obstacle i see in this reading, at least for me, is the “giving it away” part. it is not that i resist giving what i have away, it is just that i am so socially awkward and retarded that the opportunity to do so, does not p[resent itself in my life, or at least that used to be the case. when i started this journey through the steps, i defined my role in the fellowship as someone who served on committees and did very little direct service with my fellow members. the lie i told myself, call it justification or rationalization, but it is still a lie, was that i was giving it away by participating in those various levels of service, and because i was, more addicts were getting the benefit of my recovery, than the few newcomers i might bump into, in my local meetings. i was carrying the message through service committees and that was certainly the best way for this addict to go. as i become less inept ion social situations and start to develop my identity as a member and not some service phreak, i see that i still may not swarm on every newcomer who enters the room, but i GET to give away what has been given to me, through the various ways i now serve my fellowship and through the men who choose to allow me to sponsor them. i do not have to overthink or explain away what is happening, but the fact is, as i grow up in my recovery, i am learning what it means to be a part of, instead of a mere spectator, in my local fellowship. i GET to give it away and i need to not force it down anyone's throat.
what does that mean today, after all, the past is history and the future a mystery, that is why one calls it the present. yeah i wanted to use that little classic since someone mentioned it on Saturday, but i seriously digress. what does that mean for me today? well i have done my AM part of daily maintenance and feel fairly spiritually fit and ready to face my day. as i think of a better analogy perhaps working out to be physically fit is a better way to look at my recovery, if i only do it some of the time, i may be healthy but far from fit. if i do it every day, i will be fit, healthy and have a fairly obvious spiritual physique. if i am lazy and allow the daily and the cyclical part to slide, i will become slothful, fat and even lazier. that notion fits better than a car, but it is all the same, the gift i have been given has value, and that value can only be enhanced by giving it away.
∞ DT ∞