[nandm]

Day 6

The Rose

"Life is not a cup to be drained, but a measure to be filled." anonymous

In The Game of Tennis, author Timothy Galway offers a comforting analogy to help us through the feeling that our spiritual awakening isn't as deep or profound as we would have hoped---now that we've reached the Twelfth Step.

When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we don't criticize if as rootless and stemless. We treat is as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment it requires. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don't condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticize the buds for not being open. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed until it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each stage, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is.

So it is with us. We're perfectly all right as we are. As we grow, we're deepening our sense of spirituality and our capacity to share with those in earlier stages. This helps our continuing search for even greater commitment and stability.

Today's Step: I rejoice in my spiritual growth from the earliest seeds of my recovery.

Step by Step. Muriel Zink