Thought for today:

Step 2 is like birthing a baby in one respect:  No one can do it for you.  People can give us advice about how they did it.  They can cheer us on.  (Sometimes that can be irritating, actually. Sometimes  we don’t want to hear it, and we may wish that this Higher Power business could be skipped.

But we have a tough decision to make.  Either we find a Power that can relieve our compulsive debting, or we doom ourselves to debt again.  With limited understanding, we  carefully considered this idea of a Higher Power – some of us for the first time.

DA Step 2

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

A member shares:

“If I didn’t have to believe in a Higher Power, I would have been happy to skip this Step.  The faith of my childhood seemed, well, childish.  But I didn’t want to debt again, so I did the best I could with it.

“I first tried to keep an open mind, reading spiritual books.  I tried not to judge religious people and people who seemed to have faith in DA, but to learn from them.  Many of them had stable, happy lives, and I wanted those things.

“With limited understanding of what my Higher power was, I was able to believe that one existed, because I saw recovery in people who seemed to have been through the worst experiences.  Their spirit convinced me of the possibility that there was a force beyond them at work, and that was all I needed to progress through the rest of the Steps.”

An open mind

It is freeing to come to believe that a Power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity.

Ask:

“Do I have an open mind about spiritual matters”

Meditation for today:

Like a tree needs sunlight and good soil, we human beings need society.  We need the sunlight of culture, art, mental stimulation.  We need the nutrients of the care of others.  We need to think beyond ourselves in order to grow.

These qualities are not in us by accident.  They evolved in our species through many generations.  They are essential for our survival.

More powerful than the tree which inherits the ability to grow branches and leaves, we each have inherited a creative spark, and we need to cultivate it.  Not compulsively, but honestly, knowing our current limitations.  We cannot grow too fast overnight, or we will be weak and not rather storms.

With inspiration and patience, we can innovate solutions to challenges.  A Higher Power is just the guidance we need in order to do this.  We can trust that although we do not know this Power well, it exists like the sunlight and soil for us, working through those around us.

Affirmation for today:

“Just for this day, I will remember that there are infinite sources of help available to me.  I do not have to be alone.  I will reach out to another DA member and find hope and encouragement for my situation, even if it seems hopeless to me right now.” *

* From DA’s “Just For This Day” bookmark – literature P-129.

Recommended reading:  Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

If S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting seems interesting to you, try this recommended reading:

S.M.A.R.T. Goals Made Simple – 10 Steps to Master Your Personal and Career Goals (Productive Habits)

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