Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun include in their list of characteristics of white supremacy culture a constant sense of urgency and the idea that “progress” means things getting bigger and more numerous. These do not just undermine racial justice; they are also counterproductive to serenity. While it may be urgent to work toward creating justice and halting climate change, I can’t do that work unless I have a sense of calm. Ways to counter these harmful characteristics include making realistic work plans that include quality goals.

I may see green leaves coming from the ground, but if I go ahead and yank on them right away, I’ll get a handful of greens with no carrot attached. I have to wait, keep on watering, and wait some more. This might be obvious to someone who doesn’t struggle with an addictive disposition, but I’ve got to keep reminding myself to settle down, to wait, to keep on practicing.

The beauty of continuing to practice, to wait, to do just one thing at a time is that through patience, I am gifted with not only carrots but also another day of sobriety.

Note: As the Twelfth Tradition of Twelve-Step recovery reminds us, "Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities." The editors and authors of This Day in Recovery chose not to provide individual attributions in order to respect this tradition. This meditation appears for November 27 in that book.