all or nothing

I took a friend to a meeting last night; I thought the topic was really good.

The chair said that she'd originally been tempted to just go to her favorite passage out of the Big Book, but felt that would have been taking the easy way out.

So, she prayed, opened the book, and put her finger on her favorite passage anyway.

If you'll get your book out, and turn to page fifty-three...

When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing.  God either is, or He isn't.  What was our choice to be?

 Ya' know, I remember getting to that point working with sponsors, and in workshops.  And, I always had a bit of a sticking point there.

Having no set conception of my higher power, I didn't feel qualified to make that decision.  Plus, what if my higher power wasn't really all-knowing, all-powerful, and the creator of the universe?  What if my higher power was simply something I could not define, which might not be omnipotent, but did have enough chutzpah to keep me sober?

I never really understood why I have to choose between chocolate or vanilla.  How come I can't order strawberry?

Of course, strawberry wasn't on the menu.  I had to choose all or nothing, and it was apparent the latter wasn't likely to be a hell of a lot of help.  So, each time I came to that point, I just shrugged and said, "everything, I guess."  Luckily, it doesn't call on me to have a firm faith or belief.  Just make a choice.  Decide what theory I would like to try and run with.

As time has passed, I've seen God's fingerprints on a lot of stuff all over the place.  Maybe I'm becoming intellectually complacent, maybe I'm on the right track.  Maybe I've been brainwashed (but then again, I've always had a dirty mind, so that's not necessarily a bad thing).  But, I have a sneaking suspicion that I've guessed the right way.

-M