Outside my sixth floor motel room at the San Diego Convention, I can look out the glass door to see and “hear” my palm tree—my temporary sponsor during this Convention. The branches explode outside my room, atop 50 feet of straight, strong, and branchless trunk. The palm tree stands tall and carries a program message to all who are prepared to hear.

Amazingly, this majestic tree has no distorted natural instincts and no self-will run riot. Rather, my palm tree waits for prompting from its Higher Power, the wind. I watch the branches sway gracefully, rhythmically, and in harmony with each other. Sometimes the branches appear absolutely motionless, until I look closer to see the almost imperceptible motion at the end of each branch. The rhythm of the tree synchronizes with the movement in my heart as we listen to each other.

The lesson is unmistakable. I, too, can move with the prompting of my Higher Power IF I work the program, especially the openness encouraged by the 11th Step. I don’t have to move to my distorted natural instincts, nor my self-will.

God can do for me what I can’t do for myself. I can become more like my palm tree and become more in harmony with my Higher Power, my fellow humans, and myself.