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jimhere · 12-24-2007, 04:22 PM

This is the time of year when gifts, both the giving of and the getting of are on most people's minds.

Much of what we hear in A.A. these days seems to of the new-agey self-help, self-improvement, self-empowerment sort of self-serving spirituality that dominates not only A.A. but society as a whole these days. Sort of a "I got mine and the hell with you" feel good type of spirituality.

We dangle the Ninth Step promises in front of newcomers like a carrot. We talk of "getting a life." We even speak of faith as something we need to get.

The book speaks of things like faith, love, and worship as being inborn, not something to get or to learn. We all have the capacity for faith and love. Even God is not something to get and hold. It is fundamental, the inborn essential, closer to us than the next breath, closer to us than ourselves. As much a fact as we are. The Great Reality that can only be found within by clearing away what blocks us within and can only get bigger by sharing it without. Where I AM, God is. My statement of faith. Now my lifework is to lead others to that.

Something Bill Wison wrote in The GrapeVine in 1961:
"Faith is more than our greatest gift; it's sharing with others is our greatest
responsibility. May we of A.A. continually seek the wisdom and the willing-
ness by which we well fulfill that immense trust which the Giver of all perfect
gifts has placed in our hands."

Meditating upon this writing, I am left with some deep awarenesses.

All my life I have sought meaning. I had it backwards. Getting was the goal. We have been given an immense responsibilty. People put their lives in our hands on a daily basis. Now there is meaning and depth and purpose.

I think of the gift I have been given and of the gratitude that I feel. Sometimes I get caught in "Where's mine?" At other times like now, I am awed by the immensity of what is mine.

I do not give away what I've been given to keep it. I am compelled to give it away or it will eat me up. It has been said that "To whom much has been given, much will be asked." In an earlier thread I have said that my primary purpose is not to stay sober, but to lead others to this same Great Reality I have found. If I stick to that purpose, sobriety is a blessed by-product.

Our Twelfth Step is about gratitude, about "thank you." Thank you is an acknowledgement of you and an acknowledgement of God. How do you say thank you to something as big as God? I cannot wrap my mind around such a concept. So God gave me you. I say thank you to God through you.

Wishing all a blessed and peaceful Christmas.
Jim

12-24-2007, 04:22 PM	#1 (permalink)
jimhere Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 2,392	Faith as A Gift This is the time of year when gifts, both the giving of and the getting of are on most people's minds. Much of what we hear in A.A. these days seems to of the new-agey self-help, self-improvement, self-empowerment sort of self-serving spirituality that dominates not only A.A. but society as a whole these days. Sort of a "I got mine and the hell with you" feel good type of spirituality. We dangle the Ninth Step promises in front of newcomers like a carrot. We talk of "getting a life." We even speak of faith as something we need to get. The book speaks of things like faith, love, and worship as being inborn, not something to get or to learn. We all have the capacity for faith and love. Even God is not something to get and hold. It is fundamental, the inborn essential, closer to us than the next breath, closer to us than ourselves. As much a fact as we are. The Great Reality that can only be found within by clearing away what blocks us within and can only get bigger by sharing it without. Where I AM, God is. My statement of faith. Now my lifework is to lead others to that. Something Bill Wison wrote in The GrapeVine in 1961: "Faith is more than our greatest gift; it's sharing with others is our greatest responsibility. May we of A.A. continually seek the wisdom and the willing- ness by which we well fulfill that immense trust which the Giver of all perfect gifts has placed in our hands." Meditating upon this writing, I am left with some deep awarenesses. All my life I have sought meaning. I had it backwards. Getting was the goal. We have been given an immense responsibilty. People put their lives in our hands on a daily basis. Now there is meaning and depth and purpose. I think of the gift I have been given and of the gratitude that I feel. Sometimes I get caught in "Where's mine?" At other times like now, I am awed by the immensity of what is mine. I do not give away what I've been given to keep it. I am compelled to give it away or it will eat me up. It has been said that "To whom much has been given, much will be asked." In an earlier thread I have said that my primary purpose is not to stay sober, but to lead others to this same Great Reality I have found. If I stick to that purpose, sobriety is a blessed by-product. Our Twelfth Step is about gratitude, about "thank you." Thank you is an acknowledgement of you and an acknowledgement of God. How do you say thank you to something as big as God? I cannot wrap my mind around such a concept. So God gave me you. I say thank you to God through you. Wishing all a blessed and peaceful Christmas. Jim