As Good As It Gets?

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world
As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that You will make all things right
If I surrender to Your will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with You
Forever in the next.

-attributed to Niebuhr

Someone close to me just re-entered AA after a long period of sobriety and then a period of relapse. As this person told me about getting a white chip, I could hear the resignation and disappointment. Yeah, it's good to be back in AA. Yeah, it really sucks to need to be back in AA. I know that feeling (though not with alcohol). I call it my "Sick Cycle Carousel" feeling, from the Lifehouse song by that title: "Never thought I'd end up here/ Never thought I'd be standing where I am/ Guess I kind of thought it would be easier than this/ I guess I was wrong now one more time."

I think most people can relate in some way. Most of us have some problem (or many!), some issue that just seems to resurface, and we can't believe that we're back HERE again. Again. Still.

Sigh.

Sorry, I don't have much of an answer for that one. Um...keep praying the Serenity Prayer? And keep trying for "reasonably happy".....