“As a result of this step, we begin to experience contentment, serenity, and fulfillment.”

– Life with Hope, second edition, page 60

Ever since I entered recovery, I’ve heard it said that our Higher Power wants us to be happy, joyous, and free. While I’ve repeated that phrase often, I haven’t always lived it. A friend who knew a lot about the brain explained to me that we have grooves in our brain where old ideas reside, and by using affirmations, I can raise the grooves, and not fall into old beliefs. One of my old beliefs is that if other people are suffering, then it’s not OK for me to be happy. I know intellectually that my suffering does not decrease another’s suffering, but that doesn’t always help me to not suffer.

Just like I make a decision every day to turn my will and my life over to my Higher Power, I have found that I need to make a similar decision to be happy, joyous, and free. My old ideas need reminders that it’s good for my well-being to be happy, joyous, and free. When I feel joyous, I am kinder to other people, and kinder to myself.

Final thought: Today, I know it’s good for me to be happy, joyous, and free.