What does the saying “Living Happy, Joyous, and Free” mean to us? If the first things thought of when hearing it is “Yeah, sure,” and “If you had my problems, you would be very down, too,” then I would strongly suggest looking deeply into how our program is being worked. “Half measures availed us nothing” means exactly what it says. Think of that Law of Attraction again and look into the mirror of your life and ask what is being put into your life’s mirror. If I put all good into my mirror of life I EXPECT to have all good in return.
This does not mean that every day will be filled with chuckles and laughter but there will be nothing put back into my life that I can not handle. If I put half measures, such as only working part of the program at all times, I will get half goodness in return.
I would suggest looking deeply into the 3rd Step because, if I totally turn my will and life over to my Higher Power, I KNOW and EXPECT it to get better. First, though, I have to believe that it will work. This brings us back to CBA. 1st, we Conceive a thought, like my life is going to become better. 2nd, we Believe that this is true and expect that it will occur because we see it working in others like us. 3rd, we Achieve the good life because we have thought it into existence and truly believed that it would occur because we first turned it over to our Higher Power.
These sayings that we hear regularly around the AA meetings and literature are not empty chants. How do we know this? We have seen it happen in others and actually felt it in varying degrees ourselves since starting to work the program. One does not need decades in the program to see results. They will become apparent just as soon as we actually begin to work the program to the best of our ability each and every day, not just at meetings. When we see and feel it happen, we are demonstrating and witnessing the progress. When we can feel the progress it is much better than if we only know it in our heads.
I strongly suggest that, if you are new to the program, study it and learn about it with your heart and gut, not your head. If you have been around the program for a while and want things to improve in your life, I heartily suggest you do the same. Know it truly with your heart and your head will be sure to follow. “But, Jim, how do I learn with my heart? They never told us this in school.” My suggestion is to first go back and truly take Step 3 and then know you will be led in the right direction.
From then on, if it feels good and right, do it. If there is any apprehension, step back and reconsider. When the apprehension disappears, do it and do it now! I am truly Happy, Joyous, and Free. I will be even Happier when you all become just as Happy, Joyous, and Free as I am and even more. Love you!