Will Descartes forgive me for the way that I think?
Just what is the difference? If any?
Step 3 says: We turned our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. OK, I remember when I first approached this step I would think “OK, God or whatever is listening, take my will and my life. Now what?”
Being new to the AA Program and new to trying to work with these spiritual concepts that were so very alien to me and my thinking, I really wondered what was now different.
I had thought about the verbiage of the 3rd Step and nothing seemed to be any different at all with me. Except for my curiosity as to why nothing shook or roared around me.
Do you want a hot dog or not?
I was reminded of the man sitting on the curb in front of a Coney Island in Detroit asking for money so that he could eat. He had some coins and wadded bills in a can in front of him but still was asking for money to buy food.
You see, he had asked for something too and received it. And he was still sitting there asking for more and not even using what he had. If he were truly hungry, why didn’t he just take the money he had collected, walk inside, and order a Coney?
His thoughts had only taken him so far and all he had to do was take action on his thoughts. Simply walk inside and be served. Probably the most powerful portion of our lives is our thoughts.
What does “I think therefore I am” mean?
This is called philosophical proof of existence. The 17th Century philosopher Rene Descartes coined this phrase proving to him that someone capable of any form of thought necessarily exists.
So, what now? Time for CBA?
What do we do with this, then? Everything begins with a thought. Thoughts, as powerful as they are, must be followed by some action or they do not leave the confines of our minds. We then follow with CBA.
First, I Conceive the thought or idea of turning my will and my life over to the care of God.
Then I Believe that I can do this and that He will take it and guide me because it has for so many around me. I met people who had had similar lives to mine. They had trouble believing in a Higher Power, just like I did, before AA.
Something had changed in their lives and they were now happy, joyous, and free. My next thoughts were that, if it could work for them, it could work for me too.
After coming to believe that I could have the same peace as the others, I Achieve turning it over. Webster defines Achieve as a transitive verb: to carry out successfully; to get or attain as the result of exertion.
OK, so just what do I turn over?
As far back as grade school, I was taught that a verb was an action word meaning to do something other than merely thinking about it.
This means, to me, that I must then use my knowledge learned from the first 2 Steps of AA and accept that there is a Higher Power and give It everything. This doesn’t mean “all except for this one little thing” it means all as in totally.
When do you do it? Rat now!
“God, take it all. I can’t handle it alone. I need your help and I need it right now!” This reminds me of the person who asked “How do you spell right” and the answer given was “R-a-t.” “No, man, not that mousey kind of rat. Rat like rat now!”
This all means that I shouldn’t turn my will and my life over in that mousey kind of way but completely and totally. With no strings or holdouts. And KEEP IT THERE 24/7/365.
How do you do it?
What worked for me and I am sure will work for you is to simply work the shortened version of the AA 3rd Step, just say “God, help me.” Then step aside and let Him.
When do you do this? Whenever you come to one of those crossroads in life that face us regularly when you say to yourself “Now what?” “God, help me” is what! See, simple. Not always easy, but ALWAYS simple!
When I do that, I am working my program 24/7/365 to the best of my ability. Today I am Happy, Joyous, and Free, just like the Big Book talks of, and what does that mean? It means that, if I can do it, so can you IF YOU ARE WILLING TO GO TO ANY LENGTHS TO GET IT!
Do you really want more misery and despair?
Have you had enough misery yet? Had enough agony yet? Enough physical, mental, and emotional pain yet? Then CBA. Conceive the idea that God can and will for you. Then Believe that if God did for others, He will for you also. And then you will Achieve Happiness, Joy, and Freedom.
Does this mean that you will be laughing all day and night? No. It does mean that, when life keeps coming at you, as it will, you will deal with it in a way that is the utter best for you and all around you. Thank you, God!
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