In the chapter, A Vision for You, the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous talks about trudging the road to happy destiny. There have been countless meetings about what that means. So, let’s look at the text and break it down. The quote from A Vision for You reads as follows:
“Admit your faults to Him and your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the fellowship of the spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.”
The word trudge means to walk with heavy steps, sometimes with physical difficulty or exhaustion. When we are new to recovery, every step forward takes effort. At times, the act of not drinking or using feels like walking through quicksand. The initial trudge is felt physically, emotionally, and spiritually because getting clean and sober after destroying our lives is hard. Fruitful, yes. Easy, no.
Trudging the road to happy destiny also means to walk with purpose. And every sober day- whether we have a day sober or thousands of days – is an intentional walk towards a better and more fulfilling life. We are walking towards a happy destiny and that journey is worth the discomfort it takes to get there.
Think of a marathon runner or your favorite athlete. They train hard to become champions. They practice discipline, work on having a positive mindset, and work their muscles and bodies to the point of pain at times. Why? Because they are trudging towards a happy destiny which for them means finishing a marathon at the fastest speed they can achieve.
Trudging in sobriety is no different. We work just as hard, but our happy destiny leads to wellness, freedom, and joy.
No matter where you are in your recovery journey, remember that even when the walk forward feels difficult, we are walking with intention, determination, and purpose. Hard work always pays off.
Every day sober is a success and staying sober gets easier with time. Life will happen and as we trudge the road of happy destiny, we can face its challenges – not with substances that sabotage us – but with the toolbox that a twelve-step program offers.
Walking with the purpose to stay sober under all conditions leads to long-lasting sobriety. In early sobriety, we all marvel at our fellows who have five, ten, fifteen, or more years sober. It’s hard to imagine ourselves with so much time. But it’s im- portant to remember the question we ask old-timers when they pick up a twenty-year chip. “How’d you do it?” we ask. The answer is always the same – one day at a time. Simple question, simple answer straight from A Vision for You.
They trudged until the days spun into years and the years turned into decades – proving to us all that we can do the same.
It’s important to talk about what our happy destiny is, though. Sometimes that happy destiny is knowing we are healthier in body, mind, and spirit. It can mean no longer worrying about being arrested and becoming upstanding members of our community. And it always means that we walk this walk together. Within the groups of AA, we never have to face any of our problems alone again.
That said, we will all face life’s challenges in sobriety. We will have financial difficulties, family problems, illness, or other stressors – because that’s life. But, as we go through our challenges, we must keep trudging. And the happy destiny becomes getting to the other side of a problem with our sobriety intact. Inevitably the season of life changes, we come out the other side to find a version of happiness that includes joy, fulfillment, peace, and love.
Trudging the road to happy destiny is the circle of life. The definition of happiness ebbs and flows like the ocean tide rolling in and out. It’s something we who are sober GET to do. And, doing so makes our lives richer, adds to the experience we can use to help others, and builds our confidence that we can and do live life on life’s terms successfully and happily.