Robert is the Recovery Guy. Getting clean and sober on April 25, 1986 has given me the insight and practical skill set to not only stay sober, but to also re-invent myself to the person I always wanted to become. Showing others how to do this is my life goal.
With all earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely. Remember that we deal with alcohol -cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us.
Step eight is an avenue to forgiveness. It is part of every plan of recovery. Forgiveness will always play a vital role.
When we consider what St. Francis is saying, we are encouraged to set self aside we will then grow in ways that we always hoped. May God bless you on your journey.
This is a letter I wrote to share after the passing of my AA Sponsor and dear friend, Jack Fisher.
The biggest challenge with guilt in recovery is that we hold onto it far too long. We often use guilt as a two by four to beat ourselves over the head with when we are looking for a reason to feel badly.
As all the previous steps, this step covers a specific area of need. Step Seven relies on Step Six as do all the Steps rely on the previous one.
Redirecting our thinking is critical to our recovered life and should be a constant. If not, negative thoughts will hijack our moments which can steal our day.
Fortunately, baked into the cake a personal recovery is reconciliation.
The relapse process occurs in a series of steps and in the direction of a return to addictive or other self-destructive behavior. Along the way, there are opportunities to use new ways of thinking and acting to reverse the process, but we don’t implement them.
The defects are the target of this Step and entirely is the degree by which we are ready to remove them. I invite you to look at the definitions of these words to see how they resonate with you.
I must view myself as one deserving recovery and healthy relationships. Until I see myself in this light, I will not do the things necessary to transform into this person.
I was in such a state of rebellious denial that I was far from admitting I had a problem and certainly not a problem as so seriously diagnosed. The fact that my depression or my addiction or the combination of the two did not kill me still baffles me to this day.