I have always like the phrase in AA’s “Big Book”, (a/k/a Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th edition, New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2001) that refers to “The Road of Happy Destiny.”
It is found in a line in page 164. It reads:
Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past… We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.
I’ve always liked that line about the Road. It’s mentioned a lot in AA meetings. I like its imagery of the path of sobriety being an ongoing one with a destination, and that recovery and conversion are lifelong events.
It has helped me to learn that answers to problems do not arrive quickly, that as slowly problems develop, so do their resolutions. Life is a road, there are potholes and you get around them.
The “Happy Destiny” part helps me to raise my head up and know that the race isn’t won with just not drinking. We will die someday and what happens next is something to think about. It is why my Catholicism is indispensable to me. Catholicism liberates you from the constraints of contemporary times.
The “here and now” is fleeting. We are all meant for something better, both now and for all eternity. We were meant for more than just “not drinking.”
I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)
“We are all meant for something better, both now and for all eternity.” And that means getting out of our comfort zone, no matter what it may cost us physically, mentally and/or emotionally, to move from the “good” to the “better” with the ultimate goal of arriving at the elusive “best”, moving towards eternity.
True. I especially meant it as a point to be made towards those who recover from addiction, only to spend their new lives living in recovery rooms. Perhaps that is all they are capable of, given how long their addiction may have been. But I think that too many are content to remain in the ‘comfort zone” of meetings, and resist doing anything else.
It is amazing how we can forget that the Big Book also reminds us that our purpose is to be of maximum service to our fellows…and not all of our fellows are in the meetings! We do need to be able to go OUTSIDE the rooms a be of service, to be happy and free and trudgin’ that road.
Thank you, Paul…this is a beautiful blog!
Thank you Leslie! I hope to improve upon it soon (redesign plans!)