Toward Emotional Freedom

 It’s time to pull up my ‘big girl panties’.

After spending a lifetime of looking at others as the cause of my woes while conversely seeing still others as possible saviors, I’m learning to look at the common denominator: me. In both instances, I have passed my responsibility to anyone other than myself. How convenient! I didn’t have to own anything but self-pity. 

As I look back at all the burned bridges and missed opportunities, I am learning to see where I could have managed differently, if I’d had a more realistic view of my part in my own life. Owning those things is a reversal of what I’ve known and how I’ve behaved. Emotional maturity has been in the sidelines, waiting for me to bring it to the central stage of my life. It doesn’t indulge in blame, it doesn’t pout: it is the amalgam of strength and courage mixed with clear sight and right action.

By admitting that I was powerless over alcohol and that my life had become unmanageable, the path to emotional freedom was made clear. If I stand in just that spot without venturing down the path, I will never reach the place of inner peace and serenity which is mine to find. When I proceed, following the roadmap set out for me, and with the encouragement of my sponsor and my ‘fellows’, I can learn about the kind of thinking which blocked me from the Sunlight of the Spirit, so that I can be a Giver rather than a Taker, a Singer in the Song.


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