throughout my recovery ive gotten to see how givin of self is a practice that those who have long-term, quality, recovery, constantly do. ive also witnessed those that dont. my sponsor was an excellent example of givin without strings. he offered his recovery to me when he could and was willin to go beyond if...

if ya would have told me i would have been able to receive freedom and happiness by just tellin someone else my inner most secrets, ida called ya a bold-faced liar. how could i get happiness from tellin the rottenest shit about me? just how the fuck is that gonna bring me freedom? freedom from...

learnin forgiveness and how to use it properly, for me, had to start with forgivin myself. this was the most difficult. there were others that rivaled self-forgiveness, but i was the toughest one. in recallin my list made in my 4th step inventory, my stepfather was one of the most difficult for me to make....

i cannot recall clearly this mornin if immediate forgiveness was thought of after i had completed my tell of the discoverys i found in my 4th step to my sponsor. i do recall talkin about it with him. but as far as an immediate or astoundin feelin within to forgive all i thought had caused...

ya may have told me in the days of doin my dirt and in my early recovery how havin some kind of relationship with God could help me, but i wouldnt have listened. i had no interest. if i followed what Gods plan was, id have no fun. thats how i thought. i had to...

of the many areas recovery has had an effect on my life, self-perception is one of the biggest. throughout my teens, 20s, and 30s, the view i had of self had been affected by self-esteem issues i had developed durin my youth. i had learned not to trust myself due to emotional abuse from those...

before i had done step 5, i had seen others who had done the 1, 2, 3, and out deal. and i would be a liar if i told ya i didnt feel the sense of freedom after i had been in the halfway house i was stayin in after a couple of months. but...

when i came into the rooms i was out of options. all i had tried to solve the problems within failed me. i needed to learn a new and different way to live with myself. step 4s dig into what and who i had become was overwhelmin. the honest willingness to dig in and actually...

keepin all the shit i had dealt with throughout my life only created a much sicker individual. even as i tried desperately to outlive, outthink, and overthink, the personal problems i held so dearly to my heart and mind, believin i could find a solution to those problems, i never could. my only solution was...

throughout my recovery ive learned how calmness is constructive of good. when i think of the freedoms that have come practicin what ive learned from recovery on how to work with my character defects and shortcomins, keepin my mind in a state of tranquility, usin patience, i get to experience the freedom ive worked for....