Paying Dues – Day 4

A friend trained hard for an athletic competition. His team took third place. After the main competition, he was invited to be on a spontaneous, last-minute team. This last-minute team took first place in another event.

“Getting first place was fun,” he said. “But it was a fluke. We worked much harder for third place, and I deserved that medal.”

Inventory Focus: Are you being asked to pay dues in some area of your life—recovery, a relationship, a career? When I first got sober, I had problems with my driver’s license. I knew I had abused the privilege of driving. I took a bus for years and didn’t even look into getting my driver’s license back. Finally, I looked up at the heavens. “Enough’s enough,” I said to God. “Can I please get my license again?” When I called the motor vehicle department, I learned that I could have been driving years earlier. The law said my driving privileges could be restored, but I didn’t believe I deserved that privilege. Is there some area of your life where you could look at the tally sheet and discover your dues are paid in full?

From the book: 52 Weeks of Conscious Contact