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Grace Slick is credited with saying, “No matter how big or soft or warm your bed is, you still have to get out of it”(Warner, C. 1992, Treasury of Women’s Quotations,p.188). I don’t know why this quote seems profound to me this morning. Perhaps it seems so because the image of a big, soft, and warm bed sounds inviting. However, having on occasion been in such beds, I know if my mind and soul are not at peace I can toss and turn and have trouble sleeping on them just as I would were I sleeping on an old Army surplus cot.
One of the messages speaking to me this morning from this quote is I need to practice good “soul hygiene” and stay in daily contact with God in prayer and meditation. If I forget this important responsibility before attempting to sleep, God has a way of reminding me. At such times my mind just keeps “going in circles” trying to solve a problem and worrying about what I cannot control. My restless mind will not let me sleep if I don’t remember to meditate, pray, and surrender my will.
Another message from Gracie’s quote for me this morning is that addiction may seem like a warm and soft cocoon with all the comforts of home, but we will be eventually be forced out of that cocoon either by choice (seeking and maintaining recovery) or by life threatening or terminal consequences of addiction. The good news is if we exercise our new wings once we have broken free of the cocoon we can, with practice, learn to fly. Thus, by practicing the 12 steps we gain the ability to live and grow spiritually which is, for humans, akin to flying.
But what if we don’t exercise our new butterfly wings? What if we build another cocoon of complacency in “pseudo-recovery” by going through the superficial motions of attending meetings, talking the talk, etc., without really putting the steps of recovery into practice? Sadly, we will have to leave that warm and soft bed too. There are multiple cocoons recovering people can get lost in after abstaining from drinking or from their drug of choice; they can cross addict to other addictive substances or behaviors. We have been so used to trying to do things “our way” and looking for an “easy out” that we are quite capable of finding countless ways to avoid working at exercising our “spiritual wings.”
When we work the spiritual steps of recovery and exercise our spiritual wings one day and moment at a time we find being co-pilots with God allows all sorts of magical and wonderful things to happen in our lives. They will continue to happen providing we persist in actively practicing the steps of recovery suggested by twelve step programs.
So, go ahead and get out of that bed. Don’t wait until you have an emergency, are dying, or are otherwise forced to “hit bottom” and change your ways. Do it now. Do it voluntarily. Acknowledge God is an integral part of your heart, soul, and life…..work on developing those spiritual wings and experiencing the joy of flying hand in hand with Creator.
What is your reaction to Grace Slick’s comment about having to get out of our beds no matter how comfortable they may seem? Please comment. May God bless and keep you.
Living One Day at a Time 
My mother used to rouse me out of bed with “Rise and shine!” How I hated that. But today it’s a fine way to get up. Sometimes I bound out of bed because I have a plan. Other times I crawl out of bed because I don’t have a plan. Fail to plan; plan to fail. maybe it’s a pattern I’ve learned that works for me; maybe it’s a special something I want to do; maybe it’s something I need to do. But nevertheless, I need a plan. Sometimes the bed is too warm and it’s too cold outside the bed, but when it’s time to get up, it’s time. Each day is a new time to begin, to continue, to finish. And then sleep again only to wake up to a new day. Like Annie sings in her song, “Tomorrow”, but live in today with that same vision..