# Recovery

I believe the Steps are more like a spiritual initiation that works toward destroying our old, deluded, self-centered selves so that God and our Sober Elders can put the pieces of our lives back together in the form of a wholly new self.

I delude myself into thinking I'll feel better if only I do things my way, which may give me a temporary high but are by no means a longer term salve. Sometimes I pass these actions off as habits I need to practice in order to keep my spiritual backbone strong. Honestly though I can loosen my grip a little and understand the important distinction b... See more

It takes time and patience and steady pressure to extract the weed, the negative traits, the damaging and self-destructive ways of thinking. That process, by itself, is a profound act of self-acceptance. The next profound act of self-acceptance is understanding that the job will never be completely done, some traits, some thinking patterns that ref... See more

the thing I did that seemed completely impossible at the start was this: I started to live my own life, the one that was meant for me.

I stopped listening to what other people said, I stopped listening to what I imagined people were saying. I stopped listening to the nonsense I said. I started listening to my heart. I stopped pretending and started... See more

recovering a sense of self and purpose

W e, of Alcoholics Anonymous, are more than one hundred men and women who have re-covered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.

"Your point of view is something personal to you. It is no one's truth but yours. Then, if you get mad at me, I know you are dealing with yourself. I am the excuse for you to get mad. And you get mad because you are afraid, because you are dealing with fear."

I needed to quiet the constant voice in my head wondering why we still didn’t measure up, why we hadn’t accomplished more, why more people didn’t like us, why were we always so alone?