Getting the message across makes us aware of our gifts and limitations and guides us to change.
Living Pure, Chapter 1: Living Pure, Introductory Text
The effort we put into our recovery – working the Steps, studying the Traditions, living according to spiritual principles – gives us the freedom to be ourselves. We develop a relationship with a Higher Power, come to understand more about what makes us tick, clear the debris – past and present, repair old relationships and build new ones. Each element of this process expands our capacity for awareness. The message we convey is enriched by personal experience with the daily application of spiritual principles.
Life can get really good, often better than we ever imagined. We are free from active addiction and less consumed by self-centered fear. We may give up habits from our daily lives without paying an immediate price. We stop writing, worrying and meditating. We call our supporter less often. All outward indications are that we are fine. When anxiety comes to the surface, we swallow it with ice cream, hide it under new clothes, or avoid it with a fast motorcycle.
Regular meeting attendance—even when we've slacked off on other good habits—gives us a chance to course-correct. We may notice that our efforts to share seem difficult and alienating. There may be some satisfaction in the nostalgia of sharing about our past, but the absence of connection to our current emotional or spiritual life reveals a small void. We recognize the dangers of living life without examining it. We may have trouble, but seeing it coming is a good start.
With this awareness, we can turn to the practices that fuel our recovery. We take responsibility for the storm brewing in our brain or belly and share the feeling of disconnection. By watching meetings, we can get some small hints about what is important. Awareness can bring us back from the brink if we let it.
I will conduct the spiritual maintenance needed to enhance or maintain my recovery, always seeking to continue, improve, and practice with the guidance of Steps Ten, Eleven, and Twelve.
