Recovery Reflections: May 31, 2017
Hell everyone! My name is Christian, and I would like to provide you all another warm welcome to Detox to Rehab’s Recovery Reflections. Please join us and listen to the experience, strength and hope shared by Madison, Brandon and Megan.
Each week, a few of us will pre-record readings form Alcoholics Anonymous: Daily Reflections. We express how this reading has helped in recovery and how it has impacted us. We thank you and hope we can inspire your recovery journey.
Alcoholics Anonymous
May 31, 2017: Readiness to Serve Others
“. . . our Society has concluded that it has but one high mission- – to carry the A.A. message to those who don’t know there’s a way out.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 151
The “Light to freedom shines bright on my fellow alcoholics as each one of us challenges the other to grow. The “Steps” to self-improvement have small beginnings, but each Step builds the “ladder” out of the pit of despair to new hope. Honesty becomes my “tool” to unfurl the “chains” which bound me. A Sponsor, who is a caring listener, can help me truly hear the message guiding me to freedom.
I ask God for the courage to live in such a way that the Fellowship may be a testimony to His favor. The mission frees me to share my gifts of wellness through a spirit of readiness to serve others.
The Mission and the Message
“My mission today … is to carry this message to those who don’t know there’s a way out; to those who are still suffering; to those that right now today, don’t know that they can quit drinking, and they don’t know that they can live a day without using drugs,” said Megan
The purpose of the program is to spread the message to those that need help, and the ones to do that are the ones who are actively living in that message. It can be one of the most difficult things to do; living by example, and that’s ultimately ok. Sometimes, you’re not ready just yet, and that’s ok as well. You need to listen and learn before you accept and practice the message, even if others are doing it.
“It’s hard, sometimes, to hear just the message,” Megan went on to explain.
Spreading the message isn’t just about telling someone suffering from an addiction that a life without drugs or alcohol is a life worth living. Rather, it’s about being able to show them that proof, and sometimes, it’ll be difficult to do so. Living and spreading the message is something that needs to be worked toward; it’s a part of your ongoing struggle for sobriety and it’s something that is ok to take time doing. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s ok if you aren’t at the same level others are at. You need to take time for yourself.
Help yourself, and then Help Others
“Everybody in the world is a child of God, and I am not excluded from that,” Madison said.
Spreading the message is like that old airplane rule: put the mask on yourself first before helping others. You need to first heal yourself through the same method that others have healed themselves, through the 12-steps. If you haven’t healed and given yourself to what you consider is your higher power, then you cannot offer yourself to help others.
It’s ok to help yourself first; as a person of this Earth, you are entitled to the same comfort that everyone else is entitled to. You yourself are not excluded, and you deserve to have all your needs met. Your desires may not be met, but that’s ok. Knowing and understanding that your desires and your wants are different, and that understanding what the two are is crucial to understanding how to help others.
Knowing Your Own Limits
“Emotional sobriety is absolutely key. I relapse before a drink or a drug ever enters my body. And if I’m not emotionally stable up here, then I can’t be that for everyone. I can’t transmit something I don’t have,” Brandon explained.
Focusing on yourself purely is not what the program is about, but knowing when to focus on yourself is crucial. Sometimes, you have to take a step back and reevaluate and reprioritize your responsibility. “Balance is key,” Brandon explains, and understanding when you need help is crucial to your recovery.
Because that’s what this is all about; learning how to love not just others, but yourself, is the purpose of the message. If you can’t love and help yourself, then you can’t do the same for others. Knowing your limits regarding others may be hard, as it can mean that you can’t help someone. Knowing that you can’t be of service to someone can be difficult, but sometimes it’s the best thing you can do. Yes, you have to be available for service, but knowing your limits and understanding that you can’t be the best of help to someone is a part living in the message.
Knowing that you need help is a crucial step, but it is only one step. We can help you find a way out of your struggles, and help you on your way towards the road to recovery. Give us a call at (866) 578-7471 today so that we can help you on your road to recovery. Don’t wait any longer.
