FREE AT LAST Another great dividend we may expect from confiding our defects to another human being is humility – a word often misunderstood. . . . it amounts to a clear recognition of what and who we really are, followed by a sincere attempt to become what we could be. — TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 58 I knew deep inside that if I were ever to be joyous, happy and free, I had to share my past life with some other individual. The...
WALKING THROUGH FEAR If we still cling to something we will not let go, we ask God to help us be willing. — ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76 When I had taken my Fifth Step, I became aware that all my defects of character stemmed from my need to feel secure and loved. To use my will alone to work on them would have been trying obsessively to solve the problem. In the Sixth Step I intensified the action I had taken in the first three Steps –...
A RESTING PLACE All of A.A.'s Twelve Steps ask us to go contrary to our natural desires . . . they all deflate our egos. When it comes to ego deflation, few Steps are harder to take than Five. But scarcely any Step is more necessary to longtime sobriety and peace of mind than this one. — TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 55 After writing down my character defects, I was unwilling to talk about them, and decided it was time to stop...
RESPECT FOR OTHERS Such parts of our story we tell to someone who will understand, yet be unaffected. The rule is we must be hard on ourself, but always considerate of others. — ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 74 Respect for others is the lesson that I take out of this passage. I must go to any lengths to free myself if I wish to find that peace of mind that I have sought for so long. However, none of this must be done at another's expense....
"HOLD BACK NOTHING" The real tests of the situation are your own willingness to confide and your full confidence in the one with whom you share your first accurate self-survey. . . .Provided you hold back nothing, your sense of relief will mount from minute to minute. The dammed-up emotions of years break out of their confinement, and miraculously vanish as soon as they are exposed. As the pain subsides, a healing tranquility takes its place....
