Following up on a suggestion from a friend, let’s talk about our sobriety and how it affects our peace of mind. Peace is termed Serenity in the AA Program. “With the whole world in chaos today how can you even think of talking Peace?” “The world is either at war, coming out of a war, or planning the next one so where does Peace fit in here?” “At least when I drank I was able to get some oblivion from all the chaos going on all around me.” “I got married and haven’t been able to get a peaceful night’s sleep ever since.” In some neighborhoods, the days and nights are filled with the sounds of gunshots in the neighborhoods.
Does any of this sound familiar to you? If so, are you familiar with it because you are still putting yourself in the middle of it by watching the news or getting upset at others in any other way? This all brings to mind the old alcoholic saying “If you had my problems, you would drink too!” Think about this one for a moment. Everyone over the age of 18 could tell a story that would bring tears to anybody’s eyes! Now that we see the situation as seen on the daily newscasts or even sometimes right out our own front door, what can we do to bring Peace and Serenity to our lives?
Guess what? This remarkable program has already worked it out. The founders have taken an old prayer and called it The Serenity Prayer. In it they advise us to not only change the things that we can change and accept the things that we can not change, but then ask our God to grant us the wisdom to know the difference. The difference in what we can and can not change. The big thing is knowing the difference. Who of us can change world events or another person’s attitude or feelings.
The difference is that, only if it is me, I can change anything. If it is anybody or anything else, I can not change anything. Told you this was a simple program. Just don’t confuse simple with easy. OK, how do I do this? Now, I’ll tell you how I make it easier. I turn my will and life over to the care of our Higher Power, who I now choose to call God, and just LET IT HAPPEN. In AA, we call this Step 3. “But, what about all of the strife and chaos that I see on the news all the time?”
I solved this by rarely watching or listening to the news. If it is ANYTHING other than myself, I have no control over it. So the stress of trying to change it is out of the picture. This is how this program has taught us to be able to be peaceful and serene in a world that is full of discord. Peace of mind for maybe the first time in our lives. This program only mentions alcohol in the 1st Step. ALL THE REST of the 12 Steps address what we can do about getting our thinking and minds in a safe, peaceful, serene place. This is also covered by this amazing, all inclusive program. It says that all we have to do to be Happy, Joyous, and Free is work our programs TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITIES. This is the simple part.
The difficult part for many of us is getting rid of all of the programming we did to our minds for so long that it became a habit. Breaking bad habits is not always something that is easy. Don’t take your eye off the rewards that will fulfill you as you work this wonderful program. What are some of the rewards? Peace of mind, serenity, and genuine sobriety. Just quitting drinking without changing our thinking many times leads to being DRY, not necessarily SOBER.
So, if you did not drink or drug today, you can CHOOSE to change your thinking. Change you thinking, change your life. This is Sobriety! Now, enjoy it!
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