STEP TWO

Oct 24, from “Strengthening My Recovery” daily reader

“Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” BRB p. 130

“Many of us have never known what sanity is, and the very word can set us on edge. We know everything that sanity is not, because that’s how we grew up. We think, “How can I be restored to a state I’ve never experienced? If this Step is about restoration, maybe ACA isn’t for me.” This thinking might have moved us to walk away before we invested any hope in the process.

But we were fortunate enough to hear from others who take a more gentle perspective. They say, “Calm down. Try not to jump to conclusions too soon. Some of us had the same thoughts and feelings as you.” They suggest that coming to believe in a Higher Power of our own choosing and working the Steps can give us the promise of a new life, one free of the character defects that have kept us from living purposefully. They assure us that the program and their Higher Power have worked miracles in their lives.

This feels comforting and helps us see that we are where we belong.  We change our perspective and come to believe, act, and feel…sane. For many of us, sanity simply means peace of mind, which we gratefully welcome.

On this day I recognize that the insanity in my life was rooted in the dysfunction of my childhood. It no longer has the same hold over me because peace and serenity are what I focus on as I experience recovery.”

My experience:

“Today I live a life beyond my wildest dreams.”  This is the statement I heard in a meeting one night that put me on the path of sanity.  I didn’t know what that was, what that felt like, or how I could get it, but what I did know, I wanted it.  So if the person that said that worked and embraced each step that got them to a place to say that, I was going to do it.  No matter if my mind resisted for a minute, I simply said to myself, “resistance is futile.”  This was going to happen.  I had proof that this program worked if I just worked it.  So I set out to work the program, at my own pace of course, but I did not let any resistance, any person, or roadblock, deter me.  I now know that there is sanity in my life and I am getting more sanity and clarity each passing day.  You can too!!

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