Serenity check
“Lack of daily maintenance can show up in many ways.”
Basic Text p. 91
Ever had a perfect stranger remark about how great the weather was, only to reply
“It stinks?” When this happens, we are probably suffering from a lack of daily
maintenance in our program.
In recovery, life can get pretty hectic. Maybe those added responsibilities at work
have got you hopping. Maybe you haven’t been to a meeting for awhile. Perhaps
you’ve been too busy to meditate, or haven’t been eating regularly or sleeping well.
Whatever the reason, your serenity is slipping.
When this happens, it is crucial that we take action. We can’t afford to let one “bad
day,” complete with a bad attitude, slip into two days, four days, or a week. Our
recovery depends on our daily maintenance program. No matter what is happening
in our lives, we can’t afford to neglect the principles that have saved our lives.
There are many ways to recover our serenity. We can go to a meeting, phone our
sponsor, meet another recovering addict for lunch, or try to carry the message to a
newcomer. We can pray. We can take a moment to ask ourselves what simple things
we haven’t been doing. When our attitudes head downhill, we can avert a crash with
simple solutions.
Just for today: I will examine the maintenance of my daily program of recovery.