Here is some great experience, strength and hope from our DFW alumni representative, Julie Harvey. How cool it is to be sober and awake!    I was on a trip recently to Colorado where I did some mountain biking. We rented bikes, took off, and not knowing where we were going, we stumbled onto a pretty hairy path. It was a thin trail that was winding down the mountains with lots of tree stumps and rocks. I had never done anything like this before! I had gone on trails but they were mostly flat. I eventually did crash. I wiped the blood off, made sure my helmet was still on, and continued to trudge along.       I caught on quickly that there was something about keeping your eye on the path and not getting side tracked.  There was also a momentum to stay with, otherwise, if you slowed down too much you were more likely to spin out. If you stopped for too long you would most likely get hit by the biker coming up from behind you.    I compare this experience to working the Steps and staying on the spiritual path with a great momentum. When we start to work the Steps it seems a bit hairy, but once we get going there is no turning back if you want the results. There should be no hesitation in working the Steps and applying them to our lives. Once we stop or take a break, the momentum stops and we are off the path and most likely looking for alluring shortcuts!  Having done the shortcuts of self sponsoring, not working with others, not working ALL the steps (in order), not confessing my shortcomings, just hanging out in the meetings…I could go on, they never worked for me like diving into and staying on the path of the first guys that it worked for.   Today it is so nice to be able to go on a vacation and do new things, to experience them and not just be on the sideline of life.  Being sober isn’t about just hanging out, it’s about living and being awake to what is going on around you.  It’s about being able to handle each situation with a new attitude and outlook. I urge you not to be a bystander! Hop on and take the ride! I promise you will not want to miss it! It’s the coolest!!   Julie Harvey, DFW Alumni Relations (photo via)

Here is some great experience, strength and hope from our DFW alumni representative, Julie Harvey.

How cool it is to be sober and awake!

  

I was on a trip recently to Colorado where I did some mountain biking. We rented bikes, took off, and not knowing where we were going, we stumbled onto a pretty hairy path. It was a thin trail that was winding down the mountains with lots of tree stumps and rocks. I had never done anything like this before! I had gone on trails but they were mostly flat. I eventually did crash. I wiped the blood off, made sure my helmet was still on, and continued to trudge along.   

  

I caught on quickly that there was something about keeping your eye on the path and not getting side tracked.  There was also a momentum to stay with, otherwise, if you slowed down too much you were more likely to spin out. If you stopped for too long you would most likely get hit by the biker coming up from behind you. 

 

I compare this experience to working the Steps and staying on the spiritual path with a great momentum. When we start to work the Steps it seems a bit hairy, but once we get going there is no turning back if you want the results. There should be no hesitation in working the Steps and applying them to our lives. Once we stop or take a break, the momentum stops and we are off the path and most likely looking for alluring shortcuts!  Having done the shortcuts of self sponsoring, not working with others, not working ALL the steps (in order), not confessing my shortcomings, just hanging out in the meetings…I could go on, they never worked for me like diving into and staying on the path of the first guys that it worked for.

 

Today it is so nice to be able to go on a vacation and do new things, to experience them and not just be on the sideline of life.  Being sober isn’t about just hanging out, it’s about living and being awake to what is going on around you.  It’s about being able to handle each situation with a new attitude and outlook. I urge you not to be a bystander! Hop on and take the ride! I promise you will not want to miss it! It’s the coolest!!

 

Julie Harvey, DFW Alumni Relations

(photo via)

Tags: recovery