It’s the very places where we have been broken, where we are most vulnerable, that allow others to see through our facades to who we really are. When others are where we were, and they can see we were once there and are now doing better, it provides great hope to them, that otherwise may not exist. This is the “secret sauce” of why the 12 Step programs can be so effective, when they are working as designed.

As far as the discussion on happiness, I’ve learned not to seek it at all, nor to have any expectation of it. If I am doing what I need to be doing, it is at the bedrock of my very existence, and is the very air that I breathe. If I am not doing “the next right thing”, it will be as elusive as my behavior and thoughts, as shaky as the shifting sands I’ve chosen to tread upon.

Once I come to my senses, and choose again to walk upon the path of spirituality and growth, happiness once again becomes the very air that I breathe. It’s so simple — yet, we are so complex. It’s not always easy to stay true to the path. As time goes on, my resistance to it diminishes, as my tolerance for the pain of being off it also diminishes.