Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing which makes life seem so worth while to us now. Cling to the thought that, in God’s hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have — the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 124
What a gift it is for me to realize that all those seemingly useless years were not wasted. The most degrading and humiliating experiences turn out to be the most powerful tools in helping others to recover. In knowing the depths of shame and despair, I can reach out with a loving and compassionate hand, and know that the grace of God is available to me.
THE TREASURE OF THE PAST
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January 28 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 | Today’s AA daily reflection: “treasure of the past” is about honouring all experiences we have had in our lifetime. We are shaped and developed by every experience we have, be it good or bad. Often said, “nothing is wasted in God’s economy” and whether you believe in God or not is not the issue. The issue always what have we learned and can determine as important in our life story. We learn from pain, joy and every emotion we feel. And the years when we couldn’t feel anything can provide insight into how we develop as emotional and spiritual beings today…
Often in my past, I had a strong desire to be in love and love back. And I would go to any extreme to try secure the love of the girl I was with, and not really understanding how love can grow when we really listen to what is going on. I was so determined to be perfect, and be the right man for the right girl, I never listened hard enough to what she wanted or desired. So many assumptions about love, life and relationships based on hearsay, fantasy and desire, no wonder they ran for the hills… In recovery, life and love our real today…
And often in fellowship, there is another saying “look back don’t stare” which is quite good and I would develop it further to “look back and learn and let go the old, and make space for new ways of living.” Letting go our old behaviour and releasing ourselves from old ideas and hangups we make room and develop courage, faith and confidence to live in new ways which fit with our feelings and coping with the real life situation as it is today…
A morning meeting, where there is no chair and people simply share about what is on their mind today. The richness of experience shared may be about today, at the same time the “treasure of the past,” our history and experiences reflect how we cope and deal with our feelings as they are happening. Emotional and spiritual, the very essence of our fellowship, where we learn how to deal with our feelings and the feelings of others in the moment so we can cope with reality and work together today…
DonInLondon 2005-2011
Listening is an action, to listen before we judge, to listen and clarify “How are you feeling?” Is our chance to ask if we can help, not to swamp another with our world, listen.. ask, then share.. [Mark Twain "Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often." -/-]
[John F. Kennedy "There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction."-/-]
Open, honest and willing: Are we consistent inside and out, or does our denial filter, the inner voice chatters and judges…[William Shakespeare "Suit the action to the word, the word to the action." -/-]
[Mohandas Gandhi "Action is no less necessary than thought to the instinctive tendencies of the human frame." -/-]
Perception is our feeling and thinking, intuitive and logical as we are gifted..[Albert Einstein "There is no logical way to the discovery of these elemental laws. There is only the way of intuition, which is helped by a feeling for the order lying behind the appearance." -/-]
[Plato "Wonder is the feeling of the philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder." -/-]
Spiritual, simply is being in the moment, experiencing ‘now’..[Voltaire "What then do you call your soul? What idea have you of it? You cannot of yourselves, without revelation, admit the existence within you of anything but a power unknown to you of feeling and thinking."-/-]
[Ernest Holmes "Prayer is a thought, a belief, a feeling, arising within the mind of the one praying." -/-]
“We conceal it from ourselves in vain – we must always love something. In those matters seemingly removed from love, the feeling is secretly to be found, and man cannot possibly live for a moment without it.” Blaise Pascal
“It is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to, the feeling for the things themselves, for reality is more important than the feeling for pictures.” Vincent Van Gogh
Acceptance of how I am today. The consequences of living longer? Gaining wisdom of life one day at a time, what is possible and not possible? Life is neither fair nor unfair. That hard work and endeavour is our journey with joy and sadness thrown together side by side, serenity always in the moment of now…
AA Daily: THE TREASURE OF THE PAST ~ JANUARY 28, showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing which makes life seem so worthwhile to us now. Cling to the thought that, in God’s hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have – the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 124
What a gift it is for me to realize that all those seemingly useless years were not wasted. The most degrading and humiliating experiences turn out to be the most powerful tools in helping others to recover. In knowing the depths of shame and despair, I can reach out with a loving and compassionate hand, and know that the grace of God is available to me.
-/-
Tomorrow or maybe even the next moment this day, this moment will be a thing that is measurable only as part of my past.
Georgia, USA.
So it goes and so a momentary experience may be quite worthy of sharing as part of my experience, strength and hope.
For most people who I offer my shares to, especially those who are very green, receive measured ones by the yardstick of whether it is positive and creative. For the more mature and especially my more intimate compatriots such as sponsors, mentors etc. there might be sharing of more suffering and distress, parts of ordinary life.
The great stories of life are tales of struggle of various kinds.
Mine is no different.
The endpoint is so much more triumphant if it is a growing relationship with the Almighty purpose of the universe.
I’m Harry, grateful sometimes sad alcoholic.
Good Morning Don, et al
RE: be the right man for the right girl,
I certainly can relate. My dishonesty created the disguises that I presented to everyone. I wanted everyone to like me because I could change like a chameleon into the person that I thought they expected me to be. In all cases my motives were not at all honorable. I pretended to be caring and selfless, but it was all motived by selfish self interest. You had what you had (not in a spiritual sense) and I would go to any lengths to get it. I got so lost in my co-dependent nature that I had no idea who I was. Of course any relationship built on deceit and deception is doomed to fail. Today, I can find comfort in respecting my relationships for what they are and honor them for what they want to be in their own natural course of evolution.
I am in, this moment, the sum total of the past. A collection of experiences leading to this once moment……
The pain of past madness and wreckage caused by our alcohollism is our common bond
In this moment do I choose to live happy joyous and free? When I do I am of help to the still suffering alcoholic because he can see and feel there is hope. That is the attraction.
jay
I am, in this moment, the sum total of the past. A collection of experiences leading to this one moment……
The pain of past madness and wreckage caused by our alcohollism is our common bond
In this moment do I choose to live happy joyous and free? When I do I am of help to the still suffering alcoholic because he can see and feel there is hope. That is part of the attraction of the program.
jay
Many people love a rags-to-riches story, especially if the hero did it all on his own, against all odds. Not so glorious is the story of rising up from depravity and self-destruction to a quiet life of useful contentment. In AA it doesn’t matter if you became wealthy and appeared on Oprah (and if you did we hope you did not mention us). All that matters is that you take the benefits you have received from the many who helped you here and you give them away as generously as you can. To the outside world, your life’s lowest moments are a disturbing cautionary tale. To the Fellowship, they are your stripes and teaching credentials. Still learning, Zuzu in San Francisco
God shows us how to love. As He loves me unconditionally is the best example of how to love others. We give it away to keep it.
I was once asked if I could what would I change in my past.
My answer puzzled the person asking, nothing.
I am as Jay said the sum total of my past, and today I like that sum total.
And while I am very willing to shared my past experiences if it will be of help to others, I still need to watch my ego and motives. Am I sharing to be helpful or just to shock?
My past today via A.A. has allowed me to join the human race, and be a positive, productive member of my community.
I am so grateful to the sharing today. I need to be reminded that my dark past is something i can keep addressing and making amends as the bb and God hp helps me. I am so grateful to understand a bit more about the grace i get to be able to share and relate that icky past, that someone else may be helped. That is what the sharing did for me today, i had an aha moment. Thanks again blessings to people in recovery. Kt
Being newly sober has caused me to remember horrible things from my past. I am amazed to still be alive and blessed to have a fresh start one day at a time.