“Most of us sense that a real tolerance of other people’s shortcomings and viewpoints and a respect for their opinions are attitudes which make us more useful to others. Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs.” The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 19 – 20
How many times have we been asked to do something for someone else? How many times have we begged off for some vague reason, canceling out on our previous promise to show up, be it days or even hours prior to the promised event?
Many times, before we entered into this Los Angeles drug rehab, we made it a point to make plans and/or agree to activities and then we would cancel. We fell short on our various promises to show up for a variety of people over and over again. We couldn’t seem to find a way to follow through to be there for others.
We learn, albeit slowly, that showing up is a huge part of living a life of service and, therefore, a life of genuine purpose. There may be times now, in our sobriety, where we are ever-so-sorry we promised to show up somewhere for something yet, our feelings aside, we appear where we say we will be. Whether we want to or not, we still show up. Now, it’s important, if not more than important, to let others know they can rely upon us when the chips of their lives are down and their going’s gotten rough and tough. Our very lives depend upon us being there for their very lives.
It’s not always easy to show up. There are times when pulling the proverbial covers up over our respective heads and hiding from the world and the people in it, seem like the far better, or, at least, much more comfortable, idea. In doing that, we refuse to handle our responsibilities and our being available for others is sacrificed for our selfish, self-centered selves.
The staff here at this drug rehab in California will begin to lay the groundwork about how the idea of showing up, and subsequently the action of showing up, is imperative to building a solid foundation of responsibility. In our nascent understanding of responsibility and how crucial that is to living a life of service, we then begin to learn that we must avail ourselves to others and put their needs before our wants. When we show up, when we help another person in need, we are definitively contributing to the honeyed harmony of life and listening to that lilting melody of service as it sings softly in our ear is the sweetest & most satisfying sound ever.