[nandm]

Day 5

Peace and serenity

"Behind peaceful tranquility lies conquered challenges.

Steps One, Two, and Three open us up to an awareness that we have lost the power to manage and control our lives, that we have been caught in a downward spiral that will destroy us unless some power or force intercedes on our behalf.

In Step One, we admitted the unmanageability of our lives. We realized we could no longer keep up the pretense that somehow we were capable of setting things right. That admission created a small opening in our wall of resistance.

In Step Two, we conceded that our behavior, attitudes, and reactions were certainly not very sane; that many of the things we had said and done wer not those of a rational human being. This is when we admitted the irractionality of our behavior, and began to concede that a power greater than ourselves just might be able to help us recover. The opening widened to a narrow channel.

Then, in Step Three, we decided---not without skepticism---that in order to find peace and to share it with others, it was necessary to risk that gigantic leap into faith And we placed our will and our lives in the hands of whoever or whatever that power was.

The channel became wider and wider as our resistance lessened. At last we were able to see that peace and serenity might be possible for us to achieve.

Step Eleven now reinforces all that our first three steps taught us. We are truly convinced that life is worth living on the right track.

Today's Step: I recognize my Higher Power as the source of peace and serentity.

Step by Step. Muriel Zink