Nov. 18, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012

"We pocket our pride and go to it, illuminating every twist of character, every dark cranny of the past. Once we have taken this step, withholding nothing, we are delighted. We can look the world in the eye. We can be alone at perfect peace and ease. Our fears fall from us. ...We may have had certain spiritual beliefs, but now we begin to have a spiritual experience." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 6 ("Into Action"), p 75.

Just for today, if I have approached the all-important Fourth Step with reluctance and even fear because I perceive it as a laundry list of all my wrongs, let me understand that it also has a selfish and cathartic benefit. If I have hidden my wrongs, fears and dread in a dark and locked closet and I can muster the courage and honesty to unlock the door and confront them, I have given voice and identity to those defects. And in so doing, I can see what needs to be done. With faith and determination, in doing what has to be done, I might even have enthusiasm to do whatever it takes. With that, I can give myself permission not to fear the wrongs of my life any longer, and that fear might be disempowered. And in overcoming my fear to face myself, both then and now, I might understand for the first time what spiritual experience means. Today, I can begin the job of beginning. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012