“God, grant me the serenity to accept thhe things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Recovery means change, and change means doing things differently. The problem is, many of us resist doing things differently; what were doing may not be working, but at least we’re familiar with it. It takes courage to step out into the unknown. How do we find that courage?
We can look around ourselves in sobriety and recovery. There, we see others who’ve found they needed to change what they were doing and who’ve done so successfully. Not only does that help quiet our fear that change - any change - spells disaster, it also gives us the benefit of their experience with what does work, experience we can use in changing what doesn’t.
We can also look at our own recovery experience. Even if that experience, so far, has been limited to stopping the use of alcohol, still we have made many changes in our lives - changes for the good. Whatever aspects of our lives we have applied the steps to, we have always found surrender better than denial, recovery superior to addiction.
Our own experience and the experience of others in sobriety tells us that “changing the things I can” is a big part of what recovery is all about. The steps and the power to practice them give us the direction and courage we need to change. We have nothing to fear.
“I welcome change. With the help of my Higher Power, I will find the courage to change the tings I can.”