--David Foster Wallace
I chuckled when I first read this quote. We do learn some tough lessons in life. Many of them get repeated because sometimes we can be quite dense, i.e., resistant to the truth. I have to believe that the truth always does make itself known, though that may take a while.
The 4th step in the Anonymous programs is "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." Sincere effort here brings us face-to-face with considerable truth about ourselves, both good and not-so-good. While this inventory can be a challenging emotional experience, it truly does set us free from self-destructive thinking and behaving.
Then we reach the part of "But not until it is finished with you." That's the 5th step: "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." We share the inventory with a trusted individual as the official act of releasing it, knowing that God/Spirit/Higher Power is within the sharing all along.
Anyone who has completed these two steps knows the serenity of freedom that they bring. Challenging though they may be, these steps are often repeated over a lengthy recovery journey because the individual craves the freedom that the truth offers. It is a magnificent feeling to release character defects such as shame, rage, resentment and perfectionism.
Appreciating freedom,
Leta
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