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Sunday's and last night's meetings were very much on Step 10. After Sunday's, I felt a bit beat up. Sunday afternoon was a bit rough to put it mildly. Sunday night (12 & 12 on Step 10) felt almost like a chastisement for my earlier behavior. Last night's discussion found us roundly talking of pain, fear, acting out and living so as not to need to make new amends. At the end of the meeting last night, as we circled to end the meeting, I thanked God for the lessons and asked to learn from them. I thanked God for the all the lessons, the ones that hurt and the ones that go easily. Last night, I made a good start on the amends I need to make and live from my actions on Sunday. Below is what was waiting in my inbox this morning.

Today's thought is:

To avoid pain at all costs forces us to reject half the lessons life can teach.
--Jan Pishok

If we could remember that every experience we'll ever have is unique and offers us a lesson we will grow from, we'd accept them all with far greater ease. What's there to be afraid of anyway? God is never absent. In fact, God is present during every experience. Remembering this makes us courageous as we walk through the turmoil that interrupts the peaceful times.

Before coming to this program, we feared most of the situations that called to us, and understandably so. We were often trying to do the improbable without the wisdom or the guidance that might have guaranteed success. By taking the Third Step every morning of our lives, as has been suggested, we can positively influence the outcome of every experience we'll have. Hallelujah!

I will not avoid any experience today. I'll simply remember that God is present and that I need to know what calls to me.

You are reading from the book:
A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey

PS: I like that many of the dailies I get from Hazelden are from women's books. There is so much in most of them that I (and I think almost any man) can relate to. It's a shame so many men will never read the contents of these books simply because they're for women.