HAPPINESS IS NOT THE POINT:
I don’t think happiness or unhappiness is the point. How do we meet the problems we face? How do we best learn from them and transmit what we have learned to others, if they would receive the knowledge?
– AS BILL SEES IT, page 306 –
In my search “to be happy,” I changed jobs, married and divorced, took geographical cures, and ran myself into debt — financially, emotionally and spiritually. In A.A., I’m learning to grow up. Instead of demanding that people, places and things make me happy, I can ask God for self acceptance. When a problem overwhelms me, A.A.’s Twelve Steps will help me grow through the pain. The knowledge I gain can be a gift to others who suffer with the same problem. As Bill said, “When pain comes, we are
expected to learn from it willingly, and help others to learn. When happiness comes, we accept it as a gift, and thank God for it.”