I’ve a friend in the fellowship who’s been sober for a long time and seems very solid. On the way back from a 12 step call last week we got to talking about our jobs. My job has been a real sore point in my recovery. My life has gotten so much better in the couple of years I’ve been sober, but I’m still really dissatisfied with my job. It’s fear of economic insecurity that prevents me from making a change.
Anyway, on the trip back my friend started talking to me about how he changed careers in sobriety using the tenets of the program. He said that the same steps that we used to get sober we can use to find the career of our dreams. He pointed me to a website called Misery is Optional. In a lot of ways its standard by-the-book AA, but there is a section about careers. Here is the opening paragraph:
“None of us makes a sole vocation of this work, nor do we think its effectiveness would be increased if we did.”{p19} This sentence tells us that God’s vision for us includes our AA work, but it also includes more. Certainly, the carrying of the AA message to alcoholics must be our primary purpose, for without sobriety we have nothing else. But we have other vocations. Now that we are trying to live lives that are obedient to spiritual principles, we are free to seek God’s will for us and to participate in His expansive vision for us. Great things can come to pass.”
Now I’ve nbeen told to pray only for knowledge of God’s will and the power to carry it out. Is this type of stuff pushing that too far? Or is it OK to extend AA in this way? I’d love any feedback as I’m keen to make some changes in this part of my life.
Recovery Rabbi said,
August 5, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Hey, great blog, great messages. i just posted a link to you. Keep it up.
Irish friend of Bill said,
August 13, 2007 at 8:04 am
hi there. Did you think when they said ‘Practice these PRINCIPLES in ALL your affairs”, that there was some tiny bit of small print at the bottom which said “Except when making career choices?”
See? Easy!
“Knowledge of God’s will and the power to carry it out.”
Doesn’t say. “Except when it came to gods will in regard to my career” Does it?
Simple!
That’s why they call them PRINCIPLES. You can apply them to ANYTHING. They were designed to be used in that way. Choosing a new dress. Deciding whether you believe in euthanasia. Everything!
Well that’s how I see it.
Oh yeah. Thanks for showing that site. Yeah. Misery IS optional. Here’s a post I did on it AGES ago called Misery is optional? Looks like it..
http://anon-recovery-archive.blogspot.com/2006/06/misery-is-optional-looks-like-it.html
Yeah I hadn’t seen that site before but I know the guy that decided to start it up after a uniquely helpful old timer died. ‘prodigies of service’ is a phrase that springs to mind. I don’t have his email but I could ask around and get it. Whatever. I haven’t read the whole thing through, so I dont have an opinion as such. But it was nice to see a guy from the old days who admired the same old timer I did. I haven’t seen him for ? 15 years or something. Ages! I’m glad he got people to bother to try and remember everything that this very cool old timer used to say..
I have a section called ‘my favorite old timers sayings’ that is about the same guy. Right im off. Have a nice Monday!
nick said,
October 4, 2007 at 1:57 am
I feel like your blog would be a valuable resource for other people in recovery at my recovery blog list. Please take a moment and sign up if you would like to take part @ http://www.odatonline.com/bloglist.
Also I’ve designed a cool sobriety time counter that you can add to your blog here: http://www.odatonline.com/sobriety-counter.
please email me at nick@odatonline.com if you have any suggestions or questions about the site =)
thanks