NA JUST FOR TODAY - AUGUST 2014

[MajestyJo]

August 17, 2014

Tell the truth

Page 239

"A symptom of our disease is alienation, and honest sharing will free us to recover."

Basic Text, p. 80

Truth connects us to life while fear, isolation, and dishonesty alienate us from it. As using addicts, we hid as much of the truth about ourselves from as much of the world as we possibly could. Our fear kept us from opening ourselves up to those around us, providing protection against what others might do if we appeared vulnerable. But our fear also kept us from connecting with our world. We lived like alien beings on our own planet, always alone and getting lonelier by the minute.

The Twelve Steps and the fellowship of recovering addicts give people like us a place where we can feel safe telling the truth about ourselves. We are able to honestly admit our frustrating, humbling powerlessness over addiction because we meet many others who've been in the same situation-we're safe among them. And we keep on telling more of the truth about ourselves as we continue to work the steps. The more we do, the more truly connected we feel to the world around us.

Today, we need not hide from the reality of our relations with the people, places, and things in our lives. We accept those relationships just as they are, and we own our part in them. We take time every day to ask, "Am [telling the truth about myself?" Each time we do this, we draw that much further away from the alienation that characterizes our addiction, and that much closer to the freedom recovery can bring us.

Just for Today: Truth is my connection to reality. Today, I will take time to ask myself, "Am I telling the truth?"

When I saw this, I remembered from my youth and my mother sayiing, "BE sure your sins will find you out."

I know if you tell the truth, you don't have to remember which lie you told at any given time.

For the most part I was truthful, unless I figured the person didn't want to hear the truth. I have softened it if it was going to hurt someone. Like a lady asking me if her dressed looked good on her and did I like it? I would say things like, the colour looks good one you or like the way the skirt fits you, anything other than telling her I thought it was ugly.

You don't have to put someone down to make yourself right.

The person I lied to was myself, self-honesty took time. The blanket of denial seemed to be the easiest way to cover up and not deal with reality.