You can teach an old dog new tricks. I’m proof positive. Just ask my friend Dan Griffin. (You can see his work and web page by going to dangriffin.com). I mentioned in the last post that I had received an iPad for my birthday and even though I wanted it, I was intimidated and not at all certain it would be as useful as I’d hoped. Not because it lacked any of the capabilities I needed but because I feared I’d not get comfortable with those capabilities.
I have learned how to get around on it, however, even though there are dozens of things that haven’t been mastered yet. Actually, it’s rather nice to know that any “down time” I have, I can explore with this new tool. The real plus in having it is that it will allow me to leave my laptop at home when I’m on the road doing a workshop. Hallelujah.
It feels particularly good to discover that I can “participate” in the 21st Century. When I reflect on my journey to this new communication device, I’m rather amazed actually. When I wrote my first book (Each Day A New Beginning) in 1980 it was in long-hand, on a legal pad. As a matter of fact, my first five books were written in that same way while sitting in a big, over-stuffed recliner in my study. I paid a typist to prepare each manuscript for the publisher. Fortunately she could read my hand-writing.
I did not purchase my first computer until 1990 and bought an apple since that’s what was used by the publisher. I was not at all certain that I’d be able to write on a computer. I had not ever learned to type without looking at the keys. I still steal glances at the keys, in fact. But book six showed me I could use a computer. The twenty books that have followed have removed all doubt, not only about being able to adjust to new technology, but about the belief that my Higher Power’s help is always available, even in the mundane, such as writing at a computer.
Most of us simply need the courage to move forward to do what ever stands before us. Nothing will be too hard if it has “called” to us. This is a truth I simply do not doubt. At my AA meeting this morning, we talked about faith, a topic that moves me every time. I didn’t come into AA with any faith. I found it unnecessary. Now it’s the most necessary aspect of my life. Faith has shown me that there is a divine plan unfolding. Even a tiny backward look proves this. I know this will continue to be true so when a new tool for communicating with you, my friends and readers, comes along; my “job” is simply to say yes. I will be shown what I need to know.
So will you. That’s how God and the divine work.
