On many occasions, you have heard me refer to experience, strength, and hope. For those of you with a 12-step background and certainly Alcoholics Anonymous, you will have heard this countless times in the preamble of AA. These three are foundational to the fellowship of our recovery and at the very foundation of who we are. These three direct us in what to share and what to rely on.
- Let’s first look at experience; Experience is defined as knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what one has observed,
- encountered, or undergone:
- Strength is the quality or state of being strong; mental power, force, it is moral power, firmness, or courage.
- When used as a noun, Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. It is a particular instance of this feeling:
- As a verb, it is to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence. It is to believe, desire, or trust:
You can see why we rely on experience, strength, and hope. Our experience is our past or present point of reference; our strength is what we are doing or using while hope is what we derive from it. What are your Experience, Strength, and Hope and what does it do or represent for you? We can use these three areas as a point of reference or even checkpoints for a personal inventory. Iron sharpens iron. If we expect to sharpen, then we can use these three areas to sharpen ourselves against.
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Robert Pardon
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.
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