My Higher Power Has the Map

(Adapted for personal use from Courage to Change in Alanon.)

I may not believe it, especially when I attend my first meeting, but it really is not necessary for me to map out my own recovery--the path has already been created by a Higher Power.  All I need to do is ask for and accept my Higher Power's guidance.

I can pray for recovery and begin to walk serenely in the right direction as I follow the steps. I am not alone in this journey; my Higher Power provides all the encouragement I need if I just ask.

This process can be sped up by making good choices, many of which are suggested in our Just for Todays. I can take good care of myself, consistently, as suggested in Just for Today #4.   Attending EA meetings is obviously a good idea. So is staying in regular contact with my Sponsor, spiritual reading and prayer.  A Slogan can guide my attitude at any time.  As our author of February 27th's CTC says, "I find that when I put forth the effort to do what I can do each day, gradually I get stronger."

Recovery is not about control, nor is it about forcing myself to go faster or demanding sanity.  It only takes those small actions to remind me I am a participant in a process of recovery.  "I have every reason to be hopeful, for each step is one I take toward living life more fully. Today I will do something nice for myself that I have not made a priority until now."

"If one advances confidently in the direction of one's dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours." Henry David Thoreau