“You forget that you have just now tapped a source of power much greater than yourself.” (Chapter 11, Big Book)
Imagine a pot of potatoes. It might look full, but you can pour chickpeas in between the gaps left by the potatoes. It might then look full, but you can pour water in and finally add seasonings. Now it’s full. Do you have a potato stew? Not until you add heat. Light the gas, wait, and you’ll have a potato stew.
My material existence is the pot. The potatoes are the service of God. The chickpeas are spiritual and religious study. The water is prayer and meditation. The seasonings are right intent and a constructive attitude. The heat comes from God, and the action of lighting the gas comes from me.
There’s then a little time to eat the stew, and a little time to wash up the pot.
Some lessons:
- The pot is necessary and needs to be looked after but is not the point
- A polished pot impresses no one: what matters is the stew
- I am neither pot nor stew: I’m the cook
- Don’t put anything in the pot but potatoes, chickpeas, seasonings, and water
- Fill up the pot: a half-empty pot is a half-empty life
- Once the pot is full of the above there is no room for anything else
- Everyone’s ‘anything else’ looks different but might include:
- Unconstructive thinking
- Wrongful talk
- Leisure activities that numb, enervate, or dissipate energies
- Self-serving pursuits
- Without seasonings, the stew is nutritious but insipid
- You have to wait for stew to cook
- Don’t eat the stew until it’s done
- Don’t clean the pot whilst the stew is cooking
- Never clean the pot and the stew will be gross
- You can’t heat the pot without lighting the gas
- If I’m unhappy:
- There’s something missing from the pot
- There’s something in the pot that does not belong
- There’s just not enough stew in the pot, so I’m hungry
- I’m messing with the process.