Happy, Joyous, and Free does not mean it’s okay for me to be complacent and rest on my laurels.
Nor that from now on it is my happiness that counts because “God just wants me to be happy.” Rather, our cheerfulness shows that with God’s power, we have recovered… Life has taken on a new meaning.
The joy of good living is the theme of A.A.’s Twelfth Step. In many references, the founders and authors emphasized that a sane and useful recovery was an example to beginners. They also discussed many ways the family might interact and treat each other—healing for families was clearly a priority.
In the A.A. Basic Text:
On page 133— “We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free. We cannot subscribe to the belief that this life is a vale of tears, though it once was just that for many of us. But it is clear that we made our own misery. God didn’t do it. Avoid then, the deliberate manufacture of misery, but if trouble comes, cheerfully capitalize it as an opportunity to demonstrate His omnipotence.
On page 132— “But we aren’t a glum lot. If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our existence, they wouldn’t want it. We absolutely insist on enjoying life.”
On page 128— “We have indulged in spiritual intoxication. Like a gaunt prospector, belt drawn in over the last ounce of food, our pick struck gold. Joy at our release from a lifetime of frustration knew no bounds. Father (newcomer) feels he has struck something better than gold… he has barely scratched the limitless lode which will pay dividends only if he mines it for the rest of his life and insists on giving away the entire product.”
On page 130, The Family Afterward— “We have found nothing incompatible between a powerful spiritual experience and a life of sane and happy usefulness.”
On page 163-164, A Vision For You— “When a few men in this city have found themselves, and have discovered the joy of helping others to face life again, there will be no stopping until everyone in that town has had his opportunity to recover—if he can and will.
On page 15, Bill’s Story— “The joy of living we really have, even under pressure and difficulty. I have seen hundreds of families set their feet in the path that really goes somewhere… there is scarcely any form of trouble and misery which has not been overcome among us.”
On page 17, There Is A Solution— “Unlike the feelings of the ship’s passengers, however, our joy in escape from disaster does not subside as we go our individual ways.”
On page 62, How It Works— “Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through which we passed to freedom.
On page 160, A Vision For You— “Many a man, yet dazed from his hospital experience, has stepped over the threshold of that home into freedom.”
On page xxi, Foreword to Second Edition— “Yet it is our great hope that all those who have as yet found no answer may begin to find one in the pages of this book and will presently join us on the high road to a new freedom.”
On page 83, Into Action— “We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.”
From the A.A. Twelve and Twelve:
12&12 p.70, Step Seven— “Nearly all A.A.’s have found, too, that unless they develop much more of this precious quality than may be required just for sobriety, they still haven’t much chance of becoming truly happy.”
12&12 p.99, Step Eleven Prayer— “Lord, make me a channel of thy peace. . .that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.”
12&12 p.106, Step Twelve— “The joy of living is the theme of A.A.’s Twelfth Step, and action is its key word.”
12&12 p.110, Step Twelve— “Practically every A.A. member declares that no satisfaction has been deeper and no joy greater than in a Twelfth Step job well done.
12&12 p.125, Step Twelve— “Understanding is the key to right principles and attitudes, and right action is the key to good living; therefore the joy of good living is the theme of A.A.’s Twelfth Step.”
12&12 p.112, Step Twelve— “Can we find a new joy of living in trying to do something about all these things?”
12&12 p.124, Step Twelve— “Still more wonderful is the feeling that we do not have to be specially distinguished among our fellows in order to be useful and profoundly happy.”
12&12 p.114, Step Twelve— “Only by this means can we improve our chances for really happy and useful living.
12&12 p.112, Step Twelve— “We are sober and happy in our A.A. work.”
This information assures us that knowing happiness, joy, and freedom, happens as a result of living this new way of life (if I follow all the instructions) and that this is a great example to newcomers of what a spiritual way of living gives us. We cannot keep this joy unless we also give it away. Recovery must be worked for but the feelings of happiness, joyfulness, and freedom are gifts that we cannot demand or even expect.
James H
12/15/2011 at 2:15 pm
There was a period of time in my sobriety journey that I felt compelled to minimize the good things happening to me. I tried to somehow shrink myself, to find reasons to share what I was struggling with all the time rather than talk about the joys and freedoms. I think I was trying to be melancholy so newcomers would not be intimidated. Sheez.
Good thing to have a home group, and to have a sponsor. Slowly but surely I have learned to be as honest and open about where I am on any given day, up or down, in my sharing at meetings.
It is my experience that living the spiritual life AA’s twelve steps offers results in a positive and creative attitude about myself and others. And I need to express that gratitude in all that I do.