from A State of Grace
LIVING THESE PRINCIPLES
The principles are simple enough: admission of the true source of the problem (addiction to the activity itself); reliance upon God or some other source of power beyond one’s own resources for guidance in recovery; willingness to inventory one’s own character defects and share this inventory with another; a readiness to come to grips with basic character flaws and make restitution to others; and commitment to these principles as a continuing way of life.
The summation principle, the Twelfth Step, is the affirmation of personal recovery through accepting the responsibility to take the commitment to this way of life into action by sharing it with others. And it is here that true love, which is of God, and makes it possible for one person to touch the soul of another, is found and expressed. — SLAA Basic Text, Page vii
This is a pretty tall order to present in the Preface of the Basic Text. I’ve always been surprised that it doesn’t scare newcomers away. Instead, it’s a goal to strive for. Living the principles gives us dignity of self and what we have been seeking our whole lives: true love. Newcomers see people in meetings who really are following the Twelve-Step way of life: being honest, accepting responsibility, and sharing love. This goal of living the principles takes a lot of work to achieve but is well worth it.
I will do my best to live the principles of the Program today.
From Answers in the Heart
He that can’t endure the bad, will not live to see the good. — Yiddish proverb
Some messages from our culture seem like attempts to persuade us that life should be easy, fun, and profitable — morning, noon, and night. Otherwise we’re led to believe that we are being cheated out of the “rights” promised to those born in a country of privilege and plenty.
We may have to relearn life’s hard lesson that to prevail, we often need to persevere and endure. Images seduce us with promises of immediate gratification; fantasies beckon us to the quick fix. It’s not surprising so many of us succumb to addiction; we’re just not used to having to wait and strive for our rewards.
To work to be free of addictive behavior we have to change our way of thinking about the world. We may have to learn, perhaps for the first time, to do without, to be patient, and to defer our pleasures — to wait for what rewards there may be. At first we may feel cheated and betrayed, but then, as our program starts working, we will gain more enduring satisfaction rather than the fleeting, empty pleasures of our addiction.
I am learning to be patient and to persevere in a world that was not constructed just for me and my pleasures.
Daily Meditation Books
Answers in the Heart - daily meditations for people recovering from sex addiction
Touchstones - daily meditations for recovering men A State of Grace - daily meditations by SLAA members
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