Thank you for the good post.
I have often stated something very similar in meetings. I have always loved roses and a few years ago bought a home with a rose garden in the backyard. I had never realized how much work went into raising roses until that time. What I learned from that experience is that sobriety and my rose garden are very much alike.
In my garden, I have to put the work in sometimes getting dirty. I have to fertilize the ground to keep the roses healthy. Sometimes I have to pull weeds or deal with pests. Sometimes I even get cut by a thorn but if I put the work in there are times when I will be blessed with the most beautiful flowers. Notice I did not say perfect because for something to be beautiful it does not have to be perfect.
My sobriety is very much the same thing. I have to put the work in. That means for me since I work the program of AA, applying the Steps of AA each day in my life. Sometimes I run across things that irritate me or get in the way and rather than ignore them I have to deal with those obstacles in a constructive way. Sometimes there are times when things happen and I get hurt and rather than react with a temper tantrum like a 2 year or the anger of an obstinate teenager. I instead have to work through the anger and treat the hurt. Then there are times when I am blessed with good things that happen in my life. Life does not have to be perfect to be beautiful. I just have to accept life for what life is, full of challenges, joy, sometimes heartbreak, and hope.