Courage To Change 05/01/14
 

At a recent Al-Anon meeting we were asked to fill in the blank in this statement: “If only _____ would happen, I would be happy.” Many of us were tempted to answer that we would be happy if our loved ones got sober or handled sobriety differently. But other “if only’s” also kept us feeling deprived: If only my boss, family, job, government, finances, would change in the way that I want, I would be happy. It became clear that many of us have put our happiness on hold for things beyond our control. So we applied the First Step, and admitted that we were powerless over these people, places, and things. These “if only’s” made our lives unmanageable, but a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Many of us decided to surrender our “if only’s” to a Higher Power. When we did, we stopped acting like victims, waiting for things to change. We chose to take a more active role in seeking happiness in the here and now.