Blog for August 26th, 2024
Turmoil: A state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty. A state of great commotion: agitation, tumult, disquiet.
Turmoil happens, if it hasn’t happened to you in your recovery yet, it will. Maybe not directly to you, but around you and in your world. It can come from without or from within. It can come from political trends in our society to what’s happening in our meetings.
Turmoil most certainly can happen at work, with co-workers, policies and the tension that is put upon workers. It most definitely can come from family issues. And a lot of times, it has a way of sneaking up on you. Like a dripping faucet, it will continue until there is an overflow of water and sooner or later it will burst out, spill over, ruin things and make a mess.
Turmoil will indeed take a toll on you, unless you get the faucet fixed and stop the leak. How do we do that? For those of us in recovery, we have many tools to help us stop the leak. For myself personally, the steps have taken me on a journey to a closer relationship with my Higher Power and that’s who I call on in times of turmoil and strife. I call my sponsor, talk to my husband and my BFF (who has 38 years clean), work a step, go to meetings, read, write- seek answers and comfort. I also seek support, direction and love and care.
Understanding my powerlessness in Step One is sure a big help. I can’t fix, change or manipulate anyone or anything to do my will. I do not have that power, thank goodness. Then steps two and three come right into play. The bottom line of steps one, two and three are “I can’t, He can, I think I’ll let Him”. Boom! There it is. So simple, eh?
Yes, simple, not always easy, because that turmoil keeps dripping on us – continuously, until we just want to burst. As described in the definition above, there is agitation. Like when you are trying to rest and you hear the drip, drip, drip of a leaky faucet. You can put a pillow over your head, put in earplugs and turn on fans to drown out the sound, but guess what… it’s still there! And it will run over, it is not to be ignored. I personally get upset with the water bill when we have a leak, so fix it already!
Or maybe, some preventative care is necessary, so it just never starts. If I keep my own affairs in order and stay right with my God and myself, then turmoil and agitating drips will have a tougher time breaking my barrier. My resolve to stay clean, just for today, and my resolve to strive for God’s will daily, can help stand up to the turmoil, confusion, chaos and instability that is trying to threaten my peace and my recovery. So I think I will continue working my program, keep my insurance policy paid up so I can get it fixed.
Question of the Week: How do you deal with Turmoil in your life?
