People who feel like many of us did before entering the amazing program of AA have a common feeling. “I am a victim.” Everything bad was caused by someone or something else outside of us. “Not my fault, man!” How many times have you heard this in so many words? Or said them? “Yes, I did this but he did this to me first!” I would be happy but for the (fill in the outside influence such as bully, agitator, illness, injury, lost relationship, the cops, the courts, parents, bosses, children, world events. The list is endless) “I am such a loser!”
Truth is that the only one who can make me happy or sad is ME. The only one who can make me feel like a winner and not a loser is ME! No one or nothing else can. Others or conditions outside of my own mind can not make or break my emotions. Why, you may ask? Because it is not the other’s actions or the physical aggravations. It is HOW WE REACT to them that can change our moods. Yes, from being a victim to being a winner. Those of us who have suffered cancerous growths, significant losses, failed or failing relationships, physical aches and pains and various other injuries can still be Happy, Joyous, and Free. “But, if you had my pain and/or suffering, you could not possibly be Happy, Joyous, or Free.”
Oh, yes I can be Happy, Joyous, and Free! BECAUSE I CHOOSE to not injure myself by adding to the situation. There are many who go through entire lives feeling victimized and therefore teaching the next generations that they, too, are victims. Entire cultures can and do this. Do I feel happy, joyous, or free about the suffering of another? Of course not! I do whatever I can to assist whoever chooses to ask for it. It just will not bring me down to their level of moods. How can one possibly help someone up if they are both on the same level? Impossible! I can not help anyone while believing that I am a victim. One must be in a higher mood to lift another from the depths.
I CHOOSE to not be a victim any more. I did not drink or drug today so I now have the ability to CHOOSE. Recently Reverend Doctor Jay Gantz said to a congregation on the impoverished, violent East Side of Flint, MI something that fits in very well with our remarkable program. Our Higher Power is called many different names by many different people (God, Jesus, Lord, Allah, Him, It, and on and on) but all mean the same Higher Power that created us all. (See Step 2)
With this in mind, Father Jay said “What separates our Faith communities from other Social Activist groups such as Lions Club, Doctors without Borders, and the like? These are great groups who do wonderful work. However, what is their motivation? The difference is that our Motivation lies Deep within our hearts and souls. Our motivation is to follow Jesus. It is with this understanding that we are able to view the world around us and our motivation is clear. We are located in the most impoverished city of the United States. We are called in a sacred way to minister to each other and to minister to the residents of the East Side of Flint, Mi. Our motivation is not social activism. It is not one of personal interest. Our motivation is not one of financial gain.”
“The motivation is one that is sacred. Our motivation is based in the life and teachings of Jesus. We are allowing our God to bring about courage in our hearts as well as in our hands, feet, minds, and souls. Where our hearts are is also where God’s heart is.”
With this motivation paving the way, Father Jay is slowly, but surely, changing individual mentalities in the neighborhood from one of being a victim. Changing them to one of being, at the very least, willing to try to help another.
Does this take place overnight? Hardly! So it helps to learn a little patience at the same time. “Yah, but, what does this get us?” How about the start of being Happy, Joyous, and Free. Happy, because we can finally feel a little more like a winner instead of a loser. Joyous, because we see others looking at us with less suspicion in their eyes. Free because we now see that we no longer feel so all alone. And, if an addict or alcoholic, we see that we are free of mind altering substances and making life a whole lot better for ourselves and others around us. Bless you all!
Please let us know what you think.
We can be reached at Spiritualityandrecovery@gmail.com or 810-965-6140 usually within hours.
More can be found on our other pages. We have an AA Zoom meeting, blogs, and a podcast. Also our Facebook page. They are updated regularly. We hope that you will join us on these sites. And please comment so that we can share with each other our experiences, strengths, and hopes. The Zoom meeting is every Monday through Friday, 3:00 PM EST. Meeting ID is 6035280704. Password 399778. It is simple to locate the blogs and Facebook pages. Just search @Spiritualityandrecovery. For the podcast, search Spotify.com for Spiritualityandrecovery. On iPhone say “Hey Siri, Play the podcast Spiritualityandrecovery.” Or, “Hey, Google. Play the Jim Boylan podcast.”
