I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that I think people overthink the higher power sometimes. I’m not religious... don’t pray, go to church, or talk to an imaginary guy in the sky. I am logical, and due to other circumstances in my life that shaped who I am and how I think and perceive things, I require reality validation in my life. One could surmise from this that I don’t ascribe to “higher power” stuff... yet my logical mind also sees that it works. So where is it? What is it?
It’s simple, to me. Sitting here on the couch drinking coffee next to my dog, the sun is coming in the window, sideways in the sky, offering early light. My dog has the most adorable nose. It’s still and calm. I’m still and calm. I had a good workout yesterday, and my legs feel strong. I am hopeful for today because for the last almost 22 months I haven’t had a drink, and in that hope is something larger than a small physical action of not putting a bottle to my mouth. My dogs nose is just a nose, but because I love her, it’s delightful to me. The sun is just the same sun in the same sky, but because it gives me life it’s a miracle.
I feel like a higher power is a choice we make, of how we see and perceive. The AV in my head didn’t want to stop drinking but I chose to see differently. By choosing that perception, I chose a higher power.
I think it’s there for everyone, it’s possibility, love, hope, and forgiveness. Or, for many, God. I don’t see any differentiation. This is how I understand it, and that’s the genius of the phrase “A higher power as I understand it”.
-b