The monthly theme at the Flint Life Enrichment Center recently was The Power of Trust. Just what is trust, anyway? I’m glad you asked! Trust is just another word for Faith which is just another way of saying Belief. How do we get this Trust/Faith/Belief? This is where CBA come into play. We first CONCEIVE the idea of what we want, in this case that there is a Higher Power that works only for our best interests and does it 24/7/365. Some may call this a dream or serenity. Call it what you will. Just start with the idea that this is what you wish.
Next, look around you and observe and listen to others who have had life as hard as you have. Many have had even more difficult lives. See that they are now seemingly Happy, Joyous, and Free and full of serenity. Listen to what they say that they did to get it and do now to keep this attitude. Just know that, if they could reach some semblance of joy, that we may also if we do what they suggest. “If they can do it, so can I!” Now comes the time to BELIEVE that if they can do it, so can we.
After Conceiving and Believing, comes ACHIEVE. This is when the initial idea comes to fruition and now we know, feel, trust, taste, believe and have faith that it can and will happen to us. We will know that it can and will work for us. We know and deeply have faith that it is true because we feel with every fiber of our body that it is happening now!
Now, how can we use this in our everyday lives? Use the spiritual portion of the program in ALL of our affairs, 24/7/365, not just when at meetings or things are going well. To work our program 24/7/365 is really not difficult. Merely continue doing the next right thing. How will you know if it is right? If it feels good, it IS right and good. If there is any apprehension at all, stop and reconsider. These hesitancies are like instincts. If you hesitate or do something ‘instinctively,’ this may just be God’s way of communicating with you so pay attention. When things go well, say “Thank you, God.” When depression or lows appear, say “God, help me,” and then just move on to the next right thing.
I am truly blessed to be Happy, Joyous, and Free and no one or nothing will bring me down. So, to answer the question posed in the topic, we get serenity and peace by humbly asking God for it. When we do, we are surrendering ourselves to God and we are rewarded with peace and serenity. How do I know this? Skeptical me tried it and have been cool as a cucumber ever since. As Reverend Stephanie Sorensen said recently, this all is an “inside job.”
You can not make me happy or sad. Only I and my reactions to things control my moods. The Serenity Prayer does not say to ask others for peace, joy, serenity but to seek it inside ourselves. It says that we do this by having the wisdom to know the difference between what we can change and what we can not. If it is me, I can change it. If it is not me, I can’t change it. This also applies to fixing others and problems “of the world.” SIMPLE, huh? Not always easy, though. When I was alone, I was with my biggest enemy. Now, when alone, I am with my best friend. You can not make me happy or sad. Only I can accomplish that. I think I will make the rest of my day a great one. How about you?
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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.”
