my daily reflections…

my sponsor taught me that gratitude is an action. when i am grateful fer somethin, i need to, in some way, repay what i am grateful fer. doin service work in this prog is a way fer me to show my gratitude fer what it has given me. whether it be cleanin ashtrays, even if i dont smoke, makin coffee, even if i dont drink coffee, or givin a lead, even if i dont like talkin in large groups. all these things show that i am grateful, even if people dont recognize it, i know i did it. that builds integrity and strength within so i may remain progressive in my program of recovery. it was explained to me early on, that i develop gratitude fer the new way of life i was beginnin to live. i didnt really know what they meant. i told em, thank you. they said, no, that aint it. i was stuck, i had no idea what gratitude was. i learned that the specific quality of bein grateful wasnt necessarily the same as the feelin of bein thankful. i learned that gratitude was an expression, an action. it was to show appreciation fer what had been given to me without me askin fer it. sure, it was good to feel thankful, please dont misunderstand, but i needed to show my gratitude, i needed to give of myself to the fellowship. i now understand how to show my gratitude fer this God given gift. gratitude has grown within me and there is an outpourin of love and forgiveness that flows outward from it. i have made progress toward livin and givin a better condition in my life. each day i proceed forward step by step. what ive learned is i need to favor or advocate progress, change, improvement, or reform, as opposed to wishin to maintain things as they are. when i make progress toward better conditions; employin or advocatin more enlightened or liberal ideas, new or experimental methods, i get to move forward with gratitude in my recovery. characterized by such progress, or by continuous improvement, i get to live a life of gratitude fer the shit i havent even received yet, progressive gratitude. 1 day @ a time…