A friend shared at our meeting, “The core of our Program is nothing; it is a pause.”
We were used to his odd starts; he often presented puzzles in the Program.
He continued, “When I was drinking and using, I was reacting. I would see a drink and take it. I did not think about it; I just took it. It was the most natural thing in the world. I did not stop to consider what had happened the other times I lifted the glass and drank. I did not hesitate and respond to the idea and consequences of taking a drink. Like a programmed automaton, I reacted and drank.
“When I sobered up and had a first small spiritual awakening, I followed Bill’s advice on practicing Step Three. The advice that said, “Pause.” I learned to pause before reacting. With a pause, I could respond rather than react. In the gap, I could stop, recall and consider. When confronted with the first drink, a pause permitted me to consider the wreckage of past drinking episodes and remember that it started with the first drink.
“So, a pause is the key to my Program. It is everything. But a pause is a gap; it is nothing. The nothings in my life are saving the everythings in my life.
Love the quote! So true
Bill says at the bottom of page 87 that there is more to just the pause. Pause and ask for help. I find that by asking for help whether it I ask someone else or in most cases God, it takes me out of myself. I stop playing God. Usually the answer I get is far better than the one I would come up with myself.
Good point, of course the pause is a necessary condition. The sine qua non of the rest of the operation. If I don’t do that, I am hooped.
And the pause is valuable in and of itself, not as part of the process of engaging with God, which was the main point.
Thanks for the post Paul.