"A long-time member of our program, when she was new in recovery, said she felt liberated when her sponsor told her she ‘could walk away from crazy.'" BRB p. 628

It used to be anything goes in our dysfunctional families. We learned from our parents that it was okay to call each other names and to manipulate through hurtful sarcasm. We didn't learn how to praise each other for our talents or to nurture each other through love and kindness.

No wonder emotional sobriety is such a puzzling term when we finally read about it in the Big Red Book. If we work our ACA program by getting a sponsor, working the Steps, and doing service work, life opens up. We can begin to experience what the program promises: peace and serenity. The dysfunctional situations we've lived through can be likened to watching water drain in the bathtub - there's a whirlpool at the end. In recovery we learn to identify reoccurring situations that pull us into the current of chaos and keep us stuck. We begin to step away from caustic situations and avoid being sucked back into insanity. We start to make better choices and learn to walk away from "crazy."

On this day I practice emotional sobriety and let go of trying to change other people and things. I remain centered in the peacefulness of my ACA program.