"The Elders say that if you want something good, you have to suffer for it.”

Chuck Ross  Lakota

Someone once remarked that pain is the touchstone of spiritual progress. How heartily we A.A.'s can agree with him, for we know that the pains of alcoholism had to come before sobriety, and emotional turmoil before serenity.

Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions  pgs. 93 & 94

We did not always come closer to wisdom by reason of our virtues; our better understanding is often rooted in the pains of our former follies. Because this has been the essence of our individual experience, it is also the essence of our experience as a fellowship.

“As Bill Sees It”

When pain comes, we are expected to learn from it willingly, and help others to learn. When happiness comes, we accept it as a gift, and thank God for it.

Bill W   Letter  1950

Great Mystery help us understand that suffering is part of learning, that if we search we will find the lesson we need to understand.