I Have A Problem With... - Taking Suggestions

March 31. Hey everybody, wednesday is come & almost gone. I hope yours was productive & pleasant. I got up & went to a doctors appointment only to have to come back in an hour. All said & done I got breakfast & ran into a friend at the gas station that has taken his will back. I let him know that nothing's changed and the years of Sobriety he had accumulated still impresses me. With that I gave him a few smokes & headed home. When I got there I killed alot of time & skipped any form of rest in hopes to sleep better tonight, we'll see how that goes. Reason being I have a busy day for thursday. I finally got worn out before supper and kicked back, then headed out for my usual wednesday meeting.

The meeting was usual, minus & plus a few familiar faces. The topic was alot about uncertainty on what & how to handle things. I could only relay one bit of advice that has worked for me, and it helped remind me of what works. So I guess I'll incorporate it all into today's topic. "Take Suggestions" are the words that sum up my more lengthy explination. I can remember walking into the rooms of the 12 step program, afraid, confused, life in chaos & needing help. Moreso I needed direction. I had put the substances down & was going to meetings, but had no path to take. The groups I went to advised me of a few key suggestions, all of which I believe I had to follow or I would not still be sober today.

I didn't get the hang of them all at once, some of them even took me weeks to follow through with. The point is that I made a conscious effort to do what I was suggested, exactly as suggested. I didn't get everything perfect, but I grew in trying & got better every day. The things I was told in the beginning were simple, but in some mysterious complex way did amazing things for my sobriety. So what were some of them? First thing I was told was to get phone numbers & give mine out, making contacts was the only way life outside of a meeting could be handled the way those successful in Sobriety do. I was told to get a home group, or a group that I attended every time they met. Not only that, but to go early & stay late. Help with the garbage, chairs, tables, the coffee. It was suggested that I help greet people. More suggestions came, none of which were hard to follow.

The most important suggestion of all, the one that has gotten me all of the other vital suggestions that have formed & strengthened my Sobriety, was to GET A SPONSOR. What is that? It's simply this, a trusted friend who has exactly what you want. What was that for me? Long sobriety, a smile & laugh, and a collected & intelligent way of life with love, family, & passion as well as a higher power with convicted belif. It seems like that person would be hard to find, but I already knew who it would be weeks before I ever asked him to help me. They are many, that is those with good Sobriety, and they freely give the gift of guidance & growth that was so freely given to them by their sponsors. They don't charge money, there is no favors, helping others is just as big a part of staying sober as getting the help they needed.

So if we want to grow spiritually, we need to admit, realize, and accept that we don't have all the answers.. no one does. But some have many of the answers, they will not dictate or impose them onto you. We need to be willing to ask for help, and when the suggestions are made we need to realize that our life and balance is at stake. A suggestion to the skydiver would be to pull the ripcord at the proper elevation to open the parachute. But that is only a suggestion, he can if he choses fall to the ground with no employment of the parachute. We too can plumit to our own disease if we chose, or we can chose to follow suggestions in our life. Even those whom are not addicts should be of open mind, to know that answers we do not have are out there.. and that people of Spiritual life are willing to share these suggestions to Serenity at no cost. Good Night.. Good Morning.. <3 Jimmy