Wisdom Of The Rooms - 2020

[bluidkiti]

November 23

Quote of the Week

"What Step are you on?"

Before recovery, I had very few tools to handle the problems, challenges, and situations in my life. And the tools I did have weren’t very helpful. My go-to solution was drinking. Whether things were going well (rarely) or poorly (more often the case), I escaped into a bottle of alcohol. It didn’t take long for this solution to become part of, and then the main, problem in my life. Out of options, I surrendered and entered the program.

Once in recovery, I was given a whole treasure chest of new solutions. These were spiritually based tools that fit into what my sponsor called my “spiritual tool kit.” They included things like working the Twelve Steps, taking commitments, reaching my hand out to others, praying and meditating, and so on. These new tools were incredibly helpful in changing my life for the better, but I soon learned something very important: They only worked when I worked them.

Throughout my recovery, I have found that it is easy to slide back into old behaviors, and that whenever I do, I start to experience my old feelings again. This isn’t a good thing. Whenever I find myself on my pity pot, wondering, “Where’s mine?” my sponsor brings me back to the solution. He simply asks, “What Step are you on?” When I then ask myself which Step applies to the current situation I’m obsessing over, I see the way out. The tools of a gratitude list, calling another, working the Eleventh Step, and so forth never fail to restore me to sanity. Whenever people are struggling in recovery, I know to ask them what Step they are on.