January 4
When Things Are Going Well
Trouble has a way of making us teachable. When life settles down, the suggestions that helped can start looking optional. We are busy with good things now. There is less urgency, and perhaps a small confidence that we have finally learned how to handle ourselves. Enjoying peace is natural; being suspicious of every comfortable day would be exhausting.
The useful question may concern our relationship with help. Are we still able to hear something unfamiliar, or does every suggestion meet an inward explanation of why it no longer applies? Gratitude can keep that conversation open. It reminds us that a workable life grew partly from accepting what other people offered. We do not have to manufacture a crisis to remain interested in recovery. A calm season may allow us to listen more freely, with less of the pressure that first brought us here.
What happens to my teachability when life becomes comfortable?
It is good to listen while things are going well.
For the A.A. nerds: Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Step Twelve.