For Today: October 21st

Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.

Aldous Huxley

OA was there when I came in, and it will always be there. Or will it?  I must admit, I took it for granted that there would always be someone to open the meeting room, make coffee, put out literature and clean up afterward.  I didn’t volunteer to do anything like that because I had too many other responsibilities and, besides, there were plenty of people who liked to do those jobs.

Then something happened: two people moved away, another began working nights and had to find a day meeting to attend….and suddenly there wasn’t anyone to do all the things I took for granted.  I’m grateful that was all it took to wake me up.

For Today:  What am I doing to ensure the continued existence of my home meeting and OA as a whole?

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About 4 years ago, I had neck surgery to remove some degenerative discs in my spine.  I had to wear a helmet-like contraption around my neck for 6 weeks, 24/7.  Until my neck was restricted and immobile, I took it for granted.  I turned my head whenever I wanted to, I backed my car out of a parking space with no trouble…………and now, here I was, immobilized by a hunk of plastic that thrust my entire head upwards and made me dreadfully uncomfortable.

During that 6 week period, since the brace covered the entire back of my head, I had to put my hair up in a ridiculous looking pony tail on top of my head.  I couldn’t dye my hair either, and a good portion of it was entirely gray.

Up until that time, I’d taken my hair for granted as well.  

I decided not to drive my car to work, because of my limited mobility, and a co-worker picked me up every morning and dropped me off every evening.

Up until then, I’d taken my car for granted as well.

Why did it take such a monumental happening to wake me UP to how great my life really WAS?  A life I had taken for granted, and a body I’d abused for decades.

A few months after getting out of that neck brace, I finally woke UP and decided to make some permanent changes in my life.  God showed me the way, gently, by giving me the wake up call I’d been needing for a long, long time.

My life is a gift and I treat it as the sacred thing it truly IS, bestowed on to me by God.  I will not abuse my body or my life; I will not take anything or anyone for granted; I will do MY part to give back to my fellow OAers; even if that means going ‘above and beyond’ the call of duty.