Tuesday, September 12, 2006
A.A.: Into Action: The Passionate Pursuit of Potential
"We pocket our pride and go to it, illuminating every twist of character, every dark cranny of our past. Once we have taken this step, withholding nothing, we are delighted. We can look the world in the eye. We can be alone at perfect peace and ease. Our fears fall from us. We may begin to feel the nearness of our Creator. We may have had spiritual beliefs, but now we begin to have a spiritual experience."
Alcoholics Anonymous
Into Action
Page 75
"Liberating" is the word I use most often to describe my experience with working a 5th Step. I never realized the extent to which I was hiding from the world - afraid that others would discover the fraud that I had been and worse, wouldn't accept the person I really was.
Have you ever heard the phrase, "The relentless pursuit of perfection"? It was a tagline for Lexus automobiles during the 1990's - probably coined by an alcoholic. The trap I laid for myself was setting a standard so high that there was no way that I could ever achieve it. Nothing less than perfection. My difficulties began when I perceived the outcome of my efforts (viewed by others as 'above average' to 'outstanding') as failure. For a time, I continued to strive for perfection, but after a while I felt the effort was futile. So, instead of lowering the bar, I just gave up and went to the bar. The new standard became "as little as possible."
It was no way to live and, of course, it was a downward spiral. As I became sicker and sicker, I stockpiled regret, fear, and envy. Owning up to it all and then letting it go by honestly disclosing it to God and another human being has been a huge step in my recovery. I have since felt the nearness of my Creator and have been led into a spiritual experience.
Just like me, I think the "tagmeister" at Lexus must have sobered up and dumped the garbage of the past - the company filed for a trademark of the phrase, "The passionate pursuit of potential."
I think I'm going to make that the tagline for my life. I can live up to being the best that I can be. It's not perfection, but I can look the world in the eye...
Get the latest edition of:
Alcoholics Anonymous
AA Services
aa addiction alcoholism recovery sponsornet substance abuse
Alcoholics Anonymous
Into Action
Page 75
"Liberating" is the word I use most often to describe my experience with working a 5th Step. I never realized the extent to which I was hiding from the world - afraid that others would discover the fraud that I had been and worse, wouldn't accept the person I really was.
Have you ever heard the phrase, "The relentless pursuit of perfection"? It was a tagline for Lexus automobiles during the 1990's - probably coined by an alcoholic. The trap I laid for myself was setting a standard so high that there was no way that I could ever achieve it. Nothing less than perfection. My difficulties began when I perceived the outcome of my efforts (viewed by others as 'above average' to 'outstanding') as failure. For a time, I continued to strive for perfection, but after a while I felt the effort was futile. So, instead of lowering the bar, I just gave up and went to the bar. The new standard became "as little as possible."
It was no way to live and, of course, it was a downward spiral. As I became sicker and sicker, I stockpiled regret, fear, and envy. Owning up to it all and then letting it go by honestly disclosing it to God and another human being has been a huge step in my recovery. I have since felt the nearness of my Creator and have been led into a spiritual experience.
Just like me, I think the "tagmeister" at Lexus must have sobered up and dumped the garbage of the past - the company filed for a trademark of the phrase, "The passionate pursuit of potential."
I think I'm going to make that the tagline for my life. I can live up to being the best that I can be. It's not perfection, but I can look the world in the eye...
Get the latest edition of:
Alcoholics Anonymous
AA Services
aa addiction alcoholism recovery sponsornet substance abuse
# posted by Bill B. @ 2:32 PM 
