M(3), 7/6/15: Hitting Snooze on Your Spiritual Awakening

I’m hoping all of my US friends had a spectacular Independence Day, and for my outside-of-the-US friends, I hope you had a wonderful first weekend in July 🙂

I had an amazing weekend myself, gallivanting with my family and best friend all over the big city of New York (and logged over 50,000 steps on my activity tracker to prove it).  As a result, I was dragging my wagon this morning, and was as reluctant as I’ve been in a long time to chair my Monday morning meeting.  Got there with minutes to spare, and only 2 people awaited me.

As the reluctance to be there grew, I reached for the reading that never fails to inspire me.  It is the last chapter of the first half of Alcoholics Anonymous, entitled “A Vision For You.”  I have described it too many times to count, so I won’t bother doing so again, but it is my go-to reading when I need an energizing lift.

The reading, and the meeting itself, did not disappoint.  Before we were through reading the chapter, we had a total of 10 attendees, a respectable number for a summer meeting.  The theme of the shares today was, not surprisingly, just what I needed to hear.  Before I get to that theme, I want to share my take-away from this morning’s literature.

Several times this chapter gives mention to the necessary component of a spiritual awakening in a 12-step-based recovery. For those unfamiliar with 12-step recovery, a spiritual awakening refers to the process of becoming aware of, and connected to, a power greater than ourselves, and building and strengthening a connection with that power to get and stay sober.

Although this could probably go without saying, that definition is my interpretation of the term “spiritual awakening.”  If it confuses you more than it helps, you can find all kinds of good stuff on the internet to help better your understanding. Important to remember, in grasping the concept of a spiritual awakening, is:

1.  It is an ongoing process, not a one-time event

2.  It is a unique experience; no two spiritual awakenings are the same

Back to the meeting:  I’m reading along and considering my unique spiritual awakening story, and I’m realizing that I have fallen off the beam with connection to my Higher Power.  Nothing dramatic, where I’ve renounced my faith, or taken some hard left morally, but that slippery slope that is so small it’s not terribly noticeable unless you’re paying attention:  morning prayers said hurriedly, not even an attempt to meditate, not even a passing thought as to how better to serve others.  It made me think, and hence the title above, that I’ve hit the snooze button on my spiritual awakening.

And I did share this with the group, but, in an unusual twist, I did not share until the end of the meeting.  People were anxious to get their thoughts out, which is a wonderful thing!

And in the majority of the shares, an incredible theme took shape:  people are sitting this Monday morning, incredibly grateful for their sobriety.  Apparently several of the attendees had a shared experience:  friends in the program with significant sober time suffering through a relapse, with the typical devastating results.

The people sharing this morning are not newcomers to sobriety, or the fellowship itself:  one has 10 years of sobriety, one has 25 years, and the third has one year sober currently, but prior to this had 14 years before a relapse.

And all say the same thing:  they continue to attend meetings, and stick to the basics of their program of recovery, so that they do not become one of the statistics.  It doesn’t matter how much sober time they have, all assert, because a program of recovery is worked one day at a time.

So in honor of my fallen anonymous comrade, and also on the words of inspiration from my friend ainsobriety, I came home from my meeting, I went to my neglected meditation spot, and I sat and meditated.  Time to deactivate that snooze button!

Today’s Miracle:

Hearing what I needed to hear today to be profoundly grateful for my sobriety