Bumper Sticker Therapy Pt. 1

 

    I spend a lot of time in the car and see a lot of bumper stickers. Some clever, some funny, some just stupid, but many of them provoke thought.

    In the movie 28 Days, Sandra Bullock plays a woman in Rehab who really does not want to be there. At one point she is meeting with her counselor, and he gives her some advise. (It was a slogan for AA) and she asked him to quit talking like a bumper sticker. There are many "bumper sticker" slogans in AA, and they all go deeper than the words. One Day At A Time, Easy Does It, Live and Let Live, Let Go And Let God just to quote a few. To someone in the program, it is a sign that the person in the car, or someone in that family is in a 12 step program. When you wave at them at the next red light, most of the time they know why and will wave back. 

    Here is a story that happened to me many years ago. I had been in AA for about a year and a half, and was on a road trip to find a radio job as a morning DJ. My journey took me to Phoenix, Arizona.  Now, in the early 80s Phoenix was a city easy to get lost in. It was about 110 degrees, my interview did not go as I had hoped, and I could not for the life of me find my way out of town. I was sitting at a red light and the guy behind me tooted his horn. My initial reaction was to flip him off because the light was red. My other thoughts were to find a bar close by and re-examine my sobriety.  The light turned green and off I shot. At the next light, the car behind pulled up beside me. He tooted his horn and rolled the passenger window down. I was about as pissed as I could be, and about to lose control on him when he said, "Hey, I saw your bumper sticker (ONE DAY AT A TIME) and see you are from out of state. I'm going to a meeting two blocks from here...you want to come along?" 

    I did, and he and I remained friends until his death 16 years later. 

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     ONE DAY AT A TIME:  Means just that. We take every day as it comes. We quit worrying about yesterday and tomorrow. Today, right now is all that matters. We can't undo what happened 10 seconds ago or what will happen 10 seconds from now. Focus on what you can do in the present NOW.  

    EASY DOES IT:  Another 12 step piece of advise. To ME it means don't over complicate things.  As human beings being human, many of us can escalate the simplest thing into an absolute pile of crap.  It can be the interpretation of something someone says or texts to you, a post on Facebook, a Tweet, whatever.  Take a breath. Easy Does it, Mate. Even if something WAS said in hate or anger, rise above it and wipe it off. It's ego reacting to these things. If you are real and true to yourself, nothing like that should affect you to the point of lashing out. Another saying is AA is probably the one I live by the most. WHAT YOU THINK OF ME IS NONE OF MY BUSINESS. Pretty self-explanatory.

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Some that are NOT in the 12 step programs include Shit Happens...Yes, as a matter of fact it does, but it's all the way you look at it.  In my book The Self Help Book for People Who Hate Self Help Books I tell the story of the bird flying south long after all his friends left. While flying over Wyoming, it got very cold and the bird fell from the sky, frozen and unable to move.  A cow walked by and pooped on him. The warmth of the poop allowed the bird to thaw and be began to flutter about. The barn cat saw him fluttering and grabbed him and ate him. The moral being, those who shit on you may not be the enemy, and those who pull you out of shit may not be your friend. 

HAVE A NICE DAY: I really don't like that one much. It's a bit bossy for my liking. Is it HAVE a nice day? Have a NICE day or Have a nice DAY? Only one day?  Have a NICE day? How about if I want to have a phenomenal day?  Quit telling me what to do!!  (OK...Easy Does IT)..

ANYTHING POLITICAL!! NO NO NO. You are asking for arguments and keyed cars. 

And WHO THE HELL DOES THIS??

OH well. We all have our ways of expressing ourselves. (Live and Let Live) Some of us Blog, and some stick bumper-stickers on every inch of rear real-estate of their vehicles. 

SO, as you drive, and see a thought provoking bumper sticker, take a minute and think about what it means to YOU in your mind. 

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GOD BLESS and Remember, Inhale, Exhale, Repeat as Necessary!