"I don't think we can do anything very well in this world unless we practice it. And I don't believe we do A.A. too well unless we practice it. . . . We should practice . . . acquiring the spirit of service. We should attempt to acquire some faith, which isn't easily done, especially for the person who has always been very materialistic, following the standards of society today. But I think faith can be acquired; it can be acquired slowly; it has to be cultivated. That was not easy for me, and I assume that it is difficult for everyone else . . . . " DR. BOB AND THE GOOD OLDTIMERS, pp. 307-08
Fear is often the force that prevents me from acquiring and cultivating the power of faith. Fear blocks my appreciation of beauty, tolerance, forgiveness, service, and serenity.
The first act of bad faith consists of evading what one cannot evade, of evading what one is. Jean-Paul Sartre
When did we learn to pretend to be other than we were? When did we learn that what or who we were wasn’t good enough — that we could never do or say or be enough?
We learned in childhood, as did our parents & their parents as well. Wearing a mask was a habit that evolved into becoming that mask, while our real selves disappeared.
In many ways, our real selves are still untested. But unlike the old days when they’d emerge only under pressure, we now try our real selves on like new clothes — first in a locked room when no one’s looking; later, in the open air & finally, with other people.
Being who we are is scary & strange & awkward at first, but it is an act of faith, one that builds upon the next act. These acts of faith are the process that is our recovery.
Today help me show my real face, if only for a moment.
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Life is short..Live it sober to the fullest...One day at a time...
