A new vision
“Do we really want to be rid of our resentments, our anger, our fear?”
Basic Text p. 33
Why do we call them “shortcomings”? Perhaps they should be called “long-goings,”
because that’s often what it takes for them to fade from our lives. Some of us feel
that our shortcomings are the very characteristics that saved our lives when we
used. If this is true, then it is little wonder that we sometimes cling to them like old,
dear friends.
If we are having trouble with resentment, anger, or fear, we may want to envision
what our lives could be like without these troubling defects. Asking ourselves why we
react in a certain manner can sometimes root out the fear at the core of our conduct.
“Why am I afraid to step beyond these aspects of my personality?” we ask ourselves.
“Am I afraid of who I will be without these attributes?”
Once we have uncovered our fear, we are able to move beyond it. We try to imagine
what our lives could be like without some of our more glaring shortcomings. This
gives us a feeling for what lies past our fear, providing the motivation we need to
push through it. Our Higher Power offers us a new vision for our lives, free of our
defects. That vision is the essence of our own best, brightest dreams for ourselves.
We need not fear that vision.
Just for today: I will imagine what my life would be like without my character
defects. I will ask for the willingness to have God remove my shortcomings.