Control - Power - Serenity

Today the addict went to a morning group meeting. The addict has been strugglng the past couple of weeks, acting out on a consistent basis.

There were good words for the addict at today's meeting. Conversation and reflection today gravitated to the issue of control. A number of the recovering addicts talked about the issue of control in their world. What things do we do to try to impose our wills on our surroundings?

One of the men pointed out that the greater the amount of stress he is experiencing, the more he tries to control. And we all agreed that we tend to put most of our efforts into controlling things we have no power over. We try to manage stress levels, triggering events, other people's thoughts and behaviors, the flow of time, etc.

And we all tend to spend little time working on the things we do have power over: making phone calls, reaching out to other addicts, going to meetings, taking daily inventories, etc.

All this despite the fact that we begin and end every meeting with the Serenity Prayer. No wonder we're addicts!

So today's lesson for the addict:

Listen with your heart to the words of the Serenity Prayer!

THE SERENITY PRAYER


Wisdom comes from understanding what things we have power over, what things we don't, and then focusing our efforts accordingly.

Addict, may you find serenity!