“Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” ~ Meister Eckhart
- The fact is we are all newcomers..to..today
- The fact is none of us has been to..today..before
- The fact is most of us pretend we have..but..we haven’t
- The fact is there is a fair bit of fear wrapped up in living..today
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve not enjoyed the feeling of being a perpetually re-hatched chicken.
- I much prefer the feeling of being an old-timer than a newcomer.
- If I had to choose, I’d like always to be the expert in the room, the guy that can say “I’ve been there, done that.”
The truth is I’m all too often the guy in the room with the fewest answers, scratching his head the hardest of all.
Like you, I am a newcomer to today. This was made wonderfully clear to me in this encounter:
I attended a meeting where an old-timer was to receive his 50-year sobriety coin. It was a big deal, for most of us had not encountered anyone with a half century of sobriety. The meeting was packed. The lead he gave was riveting; he remembered his first step as if it were yesterday. The tale of his last drink episode had lost none of its original punch.
While he was speaking a newcomer had come through the back door, having missed the coin ceremony and the intro. All she heard was his talk. She sat next to me and I could see that her hands were shaking; she was a “cold turkey” newcomer.
When the meeting ended the old-timer made straight for the newcomer. He introduced himself with a smile and told her how pleased he was that she was here. Her eyes welled up with tears and she began to cry. She told him that it was her first meeting and she was pretty scared and shaky. The old man took her hand and said in a most reassuring and gentle tone, “Everything is going to turn out all right. You’re in the right place, everyone here wants only to help you. Just keep coming back; it always gets better.”
She settled down and started to share her first step with him. The words came pouring out of her, story after story after story.
He just patiently listened.
Then, as I grabbed my coat to leave, I heard a remarkable exchange. People had been coming up to the old-timer and telling him happy birthday. The newcomer knew that this old gentleman had some sobriety. She asked him, “How much time do you have?”
“Dear, I have ~ one day ~ just the same as you.”
He knew that this moment belonged to the newcomer, not to him. The real story was that this young woman had gotten her first day, not that he had his 50th year.
Wow, I said to myself as I headed for the door. That’s a damn lucky newcomer for having run into that old-timer. And, I understand completely how he’s been able to stay sober for 50 years.
Just a Thought…
Pat
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