SUIT UP AND SHOW UP

 SUIT UP AND SHOW UP

 

In A.A. we aim not only for sobriety –

we try again to become citizens

of the world that we rejected,

and of the world that once rejected us.

This is the ultimate demonstration

toward which Twelfth Step work

is the first but not the final step.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 21

 

The old line says, “Suit up and show up.”

That action is so important that

I like to think of it as my motto.

I can choose each day to suit up and show up, or not.

Showing up at meetings starts me

toward feeling a part of that meeting,

I can talk with newcomers,

and I can share my experience;

that’s what credibility, honesty,

and courtesy really are.

Suiting up and showing up

are the concrete actions I take

in my ongoing return to normal living.

 

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Accepting God's Gifts

 

"Though many theologians hold

that sudden spiritual experiences

amount to a special distinction,

if not a divine appointment of some sort,

I question this view.

Every human being,

no matter what his attributes for good or evil,

is a part of the divine spiritual economy.

Therefore, each of us has his place,

and I cannot see that God intends to exalt one another.

"So, it is necessary for all of us to accept

whatever positive gifts we receive with a deep humility,

always bearing in mind that our negative attitudes

were first necessary as a means

of reducing us to such a state

that we would be ready for a gift of the positive ones

via the conversion experience.

Your own alcoholism and the immense deflation

that finally resulted

are indeed the foundation

upon which your spiritual experience rests."

Letter, 1964

 

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Try not to become a man of success.

Rather become a man of value.

—Albert Einstein

 

The marketplace and fashion entice us in countless ways to indulge our individual pleasures. Some say that success will be with the man who follows those seductive beckonings. Even sacrificing long hours by working two jobs to become a financial success or to achieve high career goals can be self-centered activity. It may be time and energy spent seeking power and glory at the cost of time with our family and friends - time for enjoying each other and growing. Sadly, external success leads to superficial pleasure but never to peace within ourselves.

 

However, when we pursue the values of honesty, humility, and service, we will find enduring self-respect and close friendships. This path provides a genuine experience of life's greatest rewards rather than the glitter of passing excitement.

 

Today, I will strive toward the greater values

rather than superficial successes.