What? No President?

 What keeps an idea alive?

If that idea turns out to be a very universal solution, it lives in changed lives; it is kept alive by the actions that emerge as a result of living it. Through trust in the words of those whose actions match them, my life has been changed. I’m the same person, but my outlook is different, my motivations are challenged. Why do I do some things which don’t allow me to know my potential for kindness, and why do I deny myself opportunities for growth? These fear-based default settings are challenged daily. My eyes are opened, my excuses are exposed, and I am given encouragement to try again and do better this time.

An essential principle at work in this process has been the concept of being of service to others. Stealth acts of kindness are small ways to listen and respond to the needs of others, then letting it be. Open honesty, awareness, and willingness to share my experiences (successful and not so much), give me a foundation upon which I have the strength to get past barriers. It allows the hope that shows me that if all is not well, I can be of use to myself and others to change things. It keeps me sober. It is overt. It is the tacit agreement which has kept AA and its many iterations living and thriving for over 8 decades.

It is the everyday application of “Let it begin with me”.

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