Thursday, February 19th
Sometimes, we would rather sit in today’s pain than take a chance at change.
Many of us used sex to escape feelings of low self-worth. We felt powerless to face our character defects, which would require being honest with ourselves, and chose instead to seek refuge through our compulsive behaviors.
In recovery, we realize that our character defects have burdened us. Eventually, we reach the point of becoming entirely ready for our Higher Power to remove those defects.
We do not have the power to remove any particular defect — our Higher Power does. But we do have the ability to try practicing the opposite of that character defect. If we want HP to take away our dishonesty, we can try to be honest. Our habits change over time.
When our character defects are removed, we feel “right-sized” — neither better nor worse than anyone else. We begin to see the miracle of transforming our shortcomings into character assets, which we can use to serve others.
“It gradually dawned on me that I could never experience the benefits of recovery unless I took action. As a result, I feel better about myself and behave better. I find that positive attitudes and behaviors tend to reinforce each other.”
Our character defects are wounds to be healed, not something innate.