# Recovery

the fundamental work of the Steps, understanding ourselves and accepting ourselves in an honest and authentic way.

I’m ashamed of my neediness of not wanting to be abandoned. I don’t want to be cast off and unloved.

The goal is not accumulating the longest list of days of no drinking, the goal is to reclaim a potentially mythical, long-lost treasure. We must leave what we have become accustomed to and strike out in search of something we may not find. It’s the commitment to that goal that is heroic, the willingness to face fears with abandon, to stand at the... See more

I remembered that I actually did put this person on a way-too-early amends list, one that I'd thrown together with a few weeks of sobriety and zero program. I put them on the list, not because I did anything to them but because I simply wanted them to like me. In my delusional Dale Carnegie fever dream, I'd win this friend and influence the person... See more

Richard Rohr, OFM.

“The false self is all the things we pretend to be and think we are. It is the pride, arrogance, title, costume, role, and degree we take to be ourselves. It is what’s passing and what’s going to die, and it is not who we are ,”

is a three-step process that takes you from making a mistake to moving beyond it.

1. Own your mistake. To do this, say to yourself, “I made a mistake. I’m human. I will take responsibility for it and I will work my way through this.” Then check your emotions. Name what you are feeling.


2. Show yourself compassion. Think through how this mistake happened.

... See more

Christianity is not about changing other people—it isn’t! It’s nice if people do change, but that’s God’s work. It’s about changing ourselves, and that never stops.

Today I pray that money comes to me with ease and clarity. I pray to spend and save within my value system. I remember that debt doesn’t make me bad or unworthy. My money business is my business, not anyone else’s. God as my employer, I surrender to spirit’s will for me.

I got the help I needed. Medication helped turn down the volume on my feelings enough that I could hear my thoughts over them, and made them small enough to get my arms around. I ask myself questions like, “Is this true, and how do I know it?” and say things like, “The problem will be there tomorrow.”