It’s In The Valleys That I Grow
September 25, 2007 by Mark
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
The oldtimers told us that the process of getting sober and staying sober would be a series of ups and downs. Peaks and Valleys is the way they described it.
They meant there would be good times and bad times, i.e. reality would set in. We’d have our high moments and our low moments. Highs = peaks. Lows = valleys.
With pain there is growth. It’s in the valleys that I grow.
From pg. 72 in the 12&12: “For us, the process of gaining a new perspective was unbelievably painful.”
Page 74: “We are obliged to choose between the pains of trying and the certain penalties of failing to do so.”
“Our eyes begin to open to the immense values which have come out of painful ego-puncturing. Until now, our lives have been largely devoted to running from pain and problems. We fled from them as from a plague. We never wanted to deal with the fact of suffering. Escape via the bottle was always our solution. Character-building through suffering might be all right for saints, but it certainly didn’t appeal to us.”
Aaah, but now some kind of “new found peace” has become a “priceless gift,” therefore humility “now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient which can give us serenity.”
Peace of mind! You bet your sweet butt I want that!
Page 75: “The notion that we would still live our own lives, God helping a little now and then, began to evaporate.”
“A great turning point in our lives came when we sought for humility as something we really wanted, rather than as something we must have.”
“Sometimes, in God’s wisdom, He allows the suffering to continue…” [not from AA literature]
“We are obliged to choose between the pains of trying and the certain penalties of failing to do so.”
Given my own post from last night, this is a wonderful reminder. Recovery of any sort will always have its valleys. And it is the decisions we make while in the valley that make the difference. It’s always easier to roll down the peak than climb to it from the valley, but think of all the amazing things you get to see on the way up.
I truly enjoy reading your comments each day. Your insight is fresh, not high-brow and preachy… like listening to an old friend tell a great story that you know to be true.
Keep it up. I am glad you’re here.
Pain is the touchstone of all spiritual growth. Sucks dosen’t it (-:
That’s one scary looking set of peaks and valleys!
My experience is more like this: