[MajestyJo]

GET OUT OF YOURSELF

I've always been a runner trying to run away from life,

Running away from challenges, and any pain or strife.

I'd end up in a brand new town, but wouldn't be there long,

My problems would start up again, because I'd brought myself along.

I'd pack my bags and wander, always searching but never free,

Until one day I realized- the problem was with me.

After all those years of running, with alcohol and pain,

I'd finally hit my bottom, and I KNEW I was insane.

I began to go to meetings; my mind was in a daze,

It didn't really make much sense, but I listened anyway.

So I saved up mental scraps of advice, and put them on a shelf,

Until one day I pulled one out: It read," GET OUT OF YOURSELF"

I thought, "If I keep on thinking about me, I'm going to end up dead.

Maybe for once, what I'll try doing, is think of you instead!

They told me I had to give it away, it's better to give than receive.

You can't keep sobriety all for yourself, and so I began to believe.

So I joined a group and helped set up and stayed around late at the end,

And whenever a newcomer walked through the door, I just tried to be a friend.

This happened a number of years ago, and I hope that I'm here to stay.

And I keep on praying for the grace of God, so that SELF doesn't get in the way.

I'll always be grateful for the scrap of advice at the back of a dusty shelf,

And I'll always remember what the Old Timer said:

"Ye must get out of yourself!"

- from The Five As