"Do not grieve.
Misfortunes will happen to the wisest and best of men. Death will come, always
out of season. It is the command of the Great Spirit, and all nations and
people must obey. What is past and what cannot be prevented should not be
grieved for..."
Big
Elk Omaha Chief
Now
comes the biggest question yet. What about the practice of these principals in all our affairs? Can
we love the whole pattern of living as eagerly as we do the small segment of it
we discover when we try to help other alcoholics achieve sobriety? Can we bring
the same spirit of love and tolerance into our sometimes deranged family lives
that we bring to our A.A. group? Can we have the same kind of confidence and
faith in these people who have been infected and sometimes crippled by our own
illness that we have in our sponsors? Can we actually carry the A.A. spirit
into our daily work? Can we meet our newly recognized responsibilities to the
world at large? And can we bring new purpose and devotion to the religion of
our choice? Can we find a new joy of living in trying to do something about all
these things? Furthermore, how shall we come to terms with seeming failure or
success? Can we now accept and adjust to either without despair or pride? Can
we accept poverty, sickness, loneliness, and bereavement with courage and
serenity? Can we steadfastly content ourselves with the humbler, yet sometimes
more durable, satisfactions when the brighter, more glittering achievements are
denied us?
Twelve
Steps & Twelve Traditions pgs 111
& 112
Creator, I stand before you, give me strength to accept your ways.