As we immersed ourselves in the program, we gained a lot of knowledge. We began to understand the reasons behind our drinking, drugging or food binging. A lot of tools were picked up which helped us maintain our sobriety. We might even have begun practices like journaling and meditation. All of these contributed to our sobriety. But the reality is that no matter how many meetings we made; no matter how many times we called our sponsor; no matter how much we planned out our day; unexpected challenges were still going to take place. When that happened we had an opportunity to tap into tools like meditation, reading from 12 step literature or an outreach call. What many of us have found to be most helpful when we have a startle in life is to immediately turn to our Higher Power. We can ask for an attribute of restraint like patience or one of action like courage. Perhaps the most evolved course is to ask our Higher Power what would He have us do in the next moment. When we clear our mind and make a space for an answer it often comes. Sometimes we also gain understanding us to why the “blessed event” occurred in the first place.
Personal Reflection: How do I react to unexpected challenges?