I can remember seeing “Easy Does It” on bumper stickers and thinking that it was cool. If I were to put I sticker on my car, I thought, it would be that. The problem was I could never find one.

Fast forward to the year 1999, and I discovered A.A. I also found out where to get that particular bumper sticker. “Easy does it” is one of the most important clichés heard at A.A. meetings and in the book Alcoholics Anonymous. It still means a lot to me.

In early sobriety, it meant that when I was worked up over something, I needed to stop and breathe and relax. When my brain was spinning out of control, I needed to stop and pray for relief. When I was overly worried about some problem, I needed to stop and think about how much I could really control and what was simply out of my hands. Then I needed to let go of that latter part.

With ten years of sobriety under my belt, “Easy does it” still resonates but at a deeper level. I need to not put myself into situations where I am likely to become worked up. I need to stay out of the way of hurt and fear.

How do I accomplish that? The most important way is by having the right attitude. I give thanks for my very life in all its imperfections every day. I give thanks for the good things and the bad.

I also keep an open mind to the experiences that life throws at me. I try not to judge situations too quickly. I have learned to let things develop on their own time and not push to much to get things to turn out the way that I want them. By keeping an open mind, I learn a lot from the good things and from the difficulties.

“Easy does it” is short enough for a bumper sticker and long enough to cause me to stop and think…and relax.