Knock, and It Shall Be Opened. . .

ALTHOUGH sobriety itself is, of course, the main gift that we get from AA, I have found that there are also bonuses--gifts that we never expected, but which come almost as side effects of achieving sobriety in AA. These bonuses often make me think of the phrase C. S. Lewis used as the title of his autobiographical book, Surprised By Joy. Lewis explains how he sought, throughout his life, to experience real joy--not just pleasure, but the deeper, richer satisfactions that we call joy. No matter how he sought joy, it eluded him. But when he stopped looking for it, it came to him, and he was surprised to find that he was, truly, experiencing the very joy he had sought.