Practicing honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness keeps us teachable, grateful, and humble. The difference between humility and humiliation can be the level of acceptance we have about the information we get. When we listen with an open mind, anyone can carry a message to

Many times in our addiction we experienced a moment of clarity, when we could see the truth about what we had become, but that awareness in itself did not bring change.

The hard part is finding the willingness to take action and pick up the phone or go to a meeting when we are feeling uninspired.

Selfless service is service to our Higher Power, our fellow human beings, and ourselves. When we are part of the process, we see a greater power working through us to make a difference in other people’s lives.

We awaken to our own spirituality. We are newly alive to the world around us. We see more clearly and feel more acutely—and that isn’t always comfortable.

We stop trying so hard to re-create ourselves and simply allow it to happen.

Our defects “grow in the dark.” In the light of recovery, our assets begin to blossom.

But it can take years to let go enough to feel that freedom. We hang on fiercely, mistaking the attempt to control all the variables in our lives for vigilance in our recovery.

When fear is driving us, we may notice that procrastination becomes an issue.