Pause

Like most people, we have found that we can take our big lumps as they come. But also like others, we often discover a greater challenge in the lesser and more continuous problems of life. Our answer is in still more spiritual development. Only by this means can we improve our chances for really happy and useful living. As we grow spiritually, we find that our old attitudes toward our instincts need to undergo drastic revisions.

TWELVE STEPS

AND

TWELVE TRADITIONS

STEP TWELVE (p.114)

*****

The rent has to be paid, the laundry needs doing, doctor appointments must be met; commitments to family fulfilled; the car needs new tires… again; neighbors are too loud, the traffic on the freeways is backed up from here to Eden; all of these and more are situations that drive me to dig in. I can be paralyzed by the overwhelming accumulation of stress that non-alcoholics don’t have any problem with. I can be tempted to run or hide from responsibilities that others face with ease. It is time to take account and seize the opportunity to open myself up to guidance… direction… breathe… to remember to pause when agitated or doubtful.

            Before I run headlong into my problems, send off a nasty email or otherwise make a fool of myself, I need to stop and count to ten… maybe hold my knees and take three deep breaths… if a car cuts me off on the freeway I might chant a mantra: “Om ah hum!” I even found that I had to change my curses to blessings. Just saying God bless instead of God damn does a subtle job on my consciousness. It just feels better to bless rather than to curse… even if I mean in my heart the opposite.

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