Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017
"The last ...years of my life have been rich and meaningful. I have had my share of problems, heartaches and disappointments, because that is life, but also I have known a great deal of joy, and a peace that is the handmaiden of an inner freedom. I have a wealth of friends and, with my AA friends, an unusual quality of fellowship. For, to these people, I am truly related. First, through mutual pain and despair, and later through mutual objectives and new-found faith and hope. And, as the years go by, working together, sharing our experiences with one another, and also sharing a mutual trust, understanding and love - without strings, without obligation - we acquire relationships that are unique and priceless." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, "Alcoholics Anonymous Number Three," Ch 12 ("The Keys of the Kingdom"), p 312.
Today, I will not forget my beginning in AA and the "mutual pain and despair" with other newcomers and, now, the "mutual objectives and new-found faith and hope" of recovery and sobriety. Whether I recognize it, this is progress. If the pain and despair when I arrived in AA have been replaced with faith and hope, I am moving forward. I cannot expect sobriety to spare me the "problems, heartaches and disappointments" that come with life, but I can expect to meet them sober - as long as I do what the program suggests: one step and one day at a time. Today, if I can say my despair of my first days in the program has been replaced with hope and faith, I can also say I'm moving where I need to move - forward. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2017
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