Wisdom Of The Rooms - 2016

[bluidkiti]

August 1

Quote of the Week

"It’s not about letting God in today, it’s about letting God out."

For years I hoarded all the good that was inside me. The capacity I had to be of service, to care for others, to truly make a difference in other people’s life, I diverted to serve and advance my own selfish needs and wants. When you needed help, my first thought was, “What’s in it for me?” If I couldn’t find a compelling answer to that question, I wouldn’t bother. This attitude left me barren of feeling, alone and self-destructive.

In early recovery, I was still pretty shut down and unwilling to help or participate. When others offered to help me, I was suspicious of their motives. “What’s in it for them?” was my reaction, and I remained distrustful for quite a while. It took contrary action for me to follow my sponsor’s direction to be of service at meetings, to take commitments like greeting people, or cleaning up afterwards, or going out to fellowship. Although I was convinced I would get nothing out of it, over time I found I was wrong.

There is a saying in the rooms that recovery is simply a matter of one alcoholic helping another. The miracle of the program is that this simple act of giving without the expectation of getting anything back is how it all works. The innate capacity in us to love, to give and to be of service reflect the same qualities of the God within us all. The magic and healing of recovery come from letting this energy of God out, rather than damning it in to benefit ourselves. As the poet Browning said, the ultimate goal of us all is to, “set the imprisoned splendor free.”

And that’s why today it’s not so much about letting God in, but letting God out.