Meeting topic for the week: Keep it Simple, Out of the weeds
About 25 years ago, I worked as a waitress and a term we used was “in the weeds” when we would get extremely busy and behind/overwhelmed.
I don’t work in restaurants anymore, but sometimes I still get that overwhelmed feeling, when I overthink things and get lost in the details or complexities of life.
When there are many things going on, so much on the to-do list, kids activities and school, work assignments and meetings, my sobriety, my relationships, etc., it can be hard for me to quiet my mind. It races from one thing to another and each thing feels like a mountain to climb.
Lately I’ve been working on ways that I can soberly keep myself out of the weeds.
When I was looking into this idea, I read that “Keep it Simple” was the last thing Dr. Bob Smith, co-founder of A.A., said to Bill Wilson. It is a catch-phrase in A.A. because we tend to make things more difficult than they need to be.
In the A.A. Big Book (page 62), I found, “This is the how and why of it. First of all, we had to quit playing God. It didn’t work. Next, we decided that hereafter in this drama of life, God was going to be our Director. He is the Principal; we are His agents. He is the Father, and we are His children. Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through which we passed to freedom.”
This reminds me that overthinking and over-analyzing everything will get me nowhere. And I usually struggle because I’m trying to be in control.
To keep it simple, I can listen to my Higher Power everyday, to let go of control and ask my HP for help. To guide me in dealing with one thing at a time and keeping it simple.
When I listen, my Higher Power shows me that I can help myself by taking action to stay out of my head, where the weeds try to drag me down – read the Big Book, participate in meetings, exercise, deep breathing, take opportunities to help others, spend time outside, clean and do chores.
Mostly surrender and let go, focus on love and service, keep things simple, and trust that everything will happen as it should. Thy will, not mine, be done.
Please share any challenges or successes you’ve had with trying to keep things simple during your sober journey.
Thank you for letting me lead this meeting,
Katie
12/23/20