Just a change of pace here. If I do not continue to work the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, these are some promises I might realize:
If I do not continue working these Steps, I will be amazed at how quickly the following will occur:
I will not be free, nor happy.
I will regret the past, and wish to shut the door on it.
I will know neither serenity nor peace.
I will never understand how I could ever help others.
Full of self-pity, I will feel useless.
I will be interested only in myself, not in anyone else.
I will seek only my own desires and satisfactions.
My whole attitude and outlook upon life will suck.
I will fear people...and economic insecurity.
Situations I used to handle will now baffle me.
I will suddenly believe that God has left me out in the cold.
None of these remarks are extravagant.
They happen constantly to millions of us.
They will ALWAYS happen to ME, if I stop working the Steps.
Please understand, none of these bad things have happened to me yet. This turning point I have reached tonight has allowed me to observe our promises in a new light.
The "Promises" are really an expression of my Spiritual Life. They are a WAY OF LIFE for me. IF I have worked the Steps diligently, fearlessly, entirely, directly, promptly, and willingly--then this is the point during which the first powders of that "sober dust" will be sprinkled around--that is the way I like to view it. It is just "my thing", OK?
Following are the real promises quoted from our Big Book.
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Now read on for the truth of the matter, the "real thing"......
From our book Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 83-84 are a list of what we lovingly refer to as.......
The AA Promises
"If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through.
We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.
We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.
We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.
No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.
That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear.
We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.
Self-seeking will slip away.
Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.
Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us.
We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.
We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not.
They are being fulfilled among us - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.
They will always materialize if we work for them."
--Pages 83-4 Big Book
Peace to you all, with love.
Steve
