Having Had a Spiritual Awakening . . .

Preface

Al‑Anon co‑founder, Lois W., said: “The word spirituality means so much it is hard to define…. I think that spirituality is living a life that has a deeper meaning than the search for daily necessities.  If we live spiritually in our daily life, then we find deeper fulfillment for ourselves…. Every activity can have a spiritual motive.”

The theme of finding a deeper meaning in daily life serves as the thread that connects the fabric of the stories that follow.  In many different voices, they describe ways of living that have revealed “a deeper meaning than the search for daily necessities.”  First Steps – Al-Anon… 35 years of beginnings p. 156

Chapter 1

A Higher Power Working Through Nature

From Survival to Recovery: Growing Up In An Alcoholic Home contains an account of one Al‑Anon member’s eventful encounter with the natural world: “With a free mind, I walked recently, for perhaps the first time in my life, accompanied by my Higher Power whom I choose to call God.

“The birds were singing, and I noticed tiny green buds popping out from every seemingly dead tree, and it filled my heart with an inexplicable joy.  As I walked slowly, relishing God’s handiwork, such awe and love came over me, I cannot adequately describe it.”

Nature provides us with sights and sounds that can be soothing, humbling, and awe‑inspiring all at once.  A wordless encounter with the beauty and power of the natural world can often open the door to spiritual experience.  From Survival to Recovery: Growing Up In An Alcoholic Home – pp. 286‑287