... the necessity of belief in and dependence upon God (Alcoholics Anonymous)
If instead of trusting in God I trust only my own intelligence, my own strength and my own prudence, I will not find my way to Him and His help. He has offered me the gift of faith. In accepting it, I must put aside my own human will and trust in Him. (ODAT, January 9)
I am not a victim of:
- The household affected by alcoholism
- My genetics
- The events of my childhood
- The behaviour of others
- The words of others
- The ideas I have been exposed to
- My 'programming'
- My 'conditioning'
- Prevailing trends or beliefs in my childhood
- Prevailing trends or beliefs in society right now
- What happened in the past
- What is happening right now
- What might happen in the future
- My physical body
- My physical brain
- Electrical signals in my brain
- Neurotransmitters and neuroreceptors
- How my brain is 'wired'
These are some of the cards I'm dealt, amongst manifold other influences. What life I build is based on how I respond, every moment of the day, in belief, thought, word, and deed, to these, and whether or not I invoke the infinite power of God and all of His forces in the world, acting through the Fellowship, along with countless other channels.
At any moment, there are multiple paths that might be chosen. The path chosen is never inevitable. But, unless I exercise will and ask for God's help to see the situation as God sees it and to ask God what to do, practising Step Eleven as a constant method of living, I will apparently involuntarily go down the wrong path.
Will is exercised not at the point of mental or material response but at the point of choosing which voice to listen to: the voice of self or the voice of God.
If I think something that causes distress; if I do something that is empty, ineffectual, or downright harmful; these 'somethings' are inevitable and involuntary consequences of the voluntary choice not to seek God's help.
Today, I'm resolving to ask God continually to instruct my perception of each situation. I've done this a number of times today, and it's literally changing how I feel. There's a radiance; a glow.
Whatever I used to think must be ... need not be. Thank God!