Ego says: “Once everything falls into place, I will find peace.”

Spirit says: “First find peace, and then everything falls into place.”

We cannot allow ourselves to view recovery as a means to fix all our problems and to arrange life to suit our selfish desires. We cannot focus on using recovery to get the house we always wanted, the job we always wanted, or the partner we always wanted. The idea that peace and happiness are derived from circumstances is an illusion. We set ourselves up for major disappointment when we obtain the material things we desire, only to find that we are still empty on the inside. If we focus on connection and the pursuit of internal and spiritual peace, we find that our messes get cleaned up with very little effort or focus, and that circumstances unfold in a way that our selfish desires could not fathom. Self-will is what caused all our problems. It certainly cannot be a tool for repair.