“Gradually, as we listened to other recovering addicts, we became willing to do what was needed. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”

– Life with Hope, second edition, pages 8-9

The most important thing I have been learning in recovery is, “this too shall pass.” Every time an urge comes up to sabotage my recovery, or I feel desperate to make “the pain stop,” I know that, gratefully, I have been given a moment to decide what to do; a pause, a moment of sanity, a moment of choice. I can work my program. I can call a fellow and they remind me in one way or another, “this too shall pass.” My experience has shown me “it” always passes, whatever “it” is. It may not pass on my timeline but it always shifts as long as I am willing to work the tools of recovery and remember that it is OK to be temporarily uncomfortable.

This pause teaches me to pray, ask HP for help, call a fellow, feel the feeling, pause, wait, get into service, take a walk, trust the process and, most importantly, do not believe everything I think! The only way I am guaranteed to know “this too shall pass” is to remember I am not alone and to get out of my head and into my program. My recovery gives me this pause, this moment of choice, this restoration of sanity to choose. This too, no matter what, shall pass.

Final thought: Today, no matter what comes my way, I will remember, “this too shall pass.” If I forget this, I will work my program, reach out to others and be grateful for the gift of this most important pause, this restoration to sanity that has been given to me.