If you want to subscribe to LOL Sober, hit the purple button below. I’m mostly publishing free pieces right now, but paid subscribers do have access to monthly premium pieces—such as THIS comedy special about my 10 favorite addiction/sobriety jokes!
Someone shared a familiar comment at a meeting the other day—that they see God in nature.
I do, too. Sometimes I am out and about and see animals or trees or even feel the wind, and I think about how majestic this world is that we live in. I also recently saw some images of the surface of Mars, and the barrenness of the planet made me feel grateful for what we have. I grew up in Pennsylvania surrounded more by nature than I have now living in a big town in Connecticut.
But where do you see your higher power? I think the No. 1 place where I feel like I can see a God of my understanding is during fellowship with other alcoholics and drug addicts. Sometimes it’s a newcomer who is trying badly to get sober. Sometimes it’s with somebody celebrating six months sober. Sometimes it’s hearing an old-timer talk about getting sober when Jimmy Carter was president.
I’ve been thinking a lot about that topic for the past month because a friend shared something that her sponsor said to her once: “If you see God through a certain window, go to that window often.”
That’s a relatively simple phrase, but it’s a lot to unpack. First of all, that phrase can be literally true sometimes—I watched two rabbits chase each other around my backyard yesterday and it was hilarious and mysterious and weird and cool. It looked a lot like me during my single days chasing people around bars and frat houses all night trying to get their phone numbers. And yes, I am pretty sure the rabbits were doing some sort of mating ritual, so I decided to walk away from the window and give them their privacy. Only God knows for sure if they got down to business back there.
Secondly, the figurative meaning of that phrase is so powerful and helpful. Think about it—wherever you see God in this life, why not turn to that as much as possible? If it’s fellowship with other alcoholics for me, why am I not spending an hour on the phone every single day with alcoholics? If it is nature, why am I not going for a walk in the woods as much as I can? If it’s through my kids, why I am not cherishing every minute with them?
The truth is, I usually only go to that window when I desperately need to, or I accidentally peek out it. I guess going forward, maybe I need to build it into my days to purposely keep track of what those windows are, and go to those windows more… even if it means I catch some X-rated rabbit action sometimes!
This newsletter is a place of joy and laughter about the deadly serious business of sobriety. So, as I will often do, let me close with a joke:
A man walks into a bar and orders a drink. He takes a sip of his drink when he hears a voice saying, “That’s a very nice tie you have on.” He looks around but he doesn’t see anybody else in the bar except for the bartender, who is reading a newspaper at the other end.
The man takes another sip of his drink and he hears, “That shirt is a good color for you.” Again the man looks all around and sees nobody. He calls the bartender over.
“I must be cracking up,” he says. “Every time I take a sip of my drink, I hear voices.”
“It’s that bowl of peanuts,” the bartender says.
“The bowl of peanuts?”
“Yes,” says the bartender. “The peanuts are complimentary.”
(Credit: AA Grapevine, September 2000, Mick K.)
Please spread the word to a sober friend! Find me on Substack… or Twitter… or Facebook… or Instagram… or YouTube. And introducing my web site, LOLsober.com.
Share this post