I Promise to Take a Vow

Promise:  Vow.
Vow:  To make a solemn resolution to do, get, etc.


I confess this morning to being a little disappointed in the definition of promise.  I was hoping it would be more along the lines of: "You WILL get this."  Something a little punchier and more forceful.  I guess I could have made something up.  It's not like I've ever told a lie or anything or that anyone is checking my definition with Mr. Webster.


Anyway, I've been dispensing to a captive Herr Luber little bits and pieces of the wisdom that I've gained by a diligent and assiduous application of the Steps.  He's polite so he listens, sometimes, or he says he does, at least.  I feel a little like a storefront preacher: cheap suit, sweaty brow, thumping on a well-worn black book, or a blue one, maybe.  It is amazing how simple the whole Program sounds when I try to dispense it in little bite sized nuggets.  I keep thinking: "Well, this is bullshit.  The guy has some complicated problems that he's trying to solve and all I can come up with is this crap?"  


I believe I will always think that a complicated problem requires a complicated solution.  This is why The Program keeps steering me back to all of those irritating 3 or 4 word slogans.  A spiritual life -- Program, religion, philosophy, wherever you can find it -- is not a complicated thing.  There's not a lot to it.


I have been doing some musing on The Promises.  I will never forget my initial stupefaction when I heard them.  I couldn't believe it.  Talk about bullshit.  Talk about vague bullshit.  Talk about a bunch of stuff that I was definitely not aspiring to.  Peace of mind as a goal, or a supermodel in a Porsche with a million dollars.  Not a difficult decision for me at the beginning.  (Ed. Note: I'd have to think about it today, too).


"This is what you people have?" I thought.  Actually, I probably said it to someone.  I hadn't yet developed the ability to stop a thought from exiting my mouth.


Today I read those Promises and I'm amazed at how profound they are and at how they have come true, each and every one of them.