Acceptance and change
“Freedom to change seems to come after acceptance of ourselves.”
Basic Text p.5
Fear and denial are the opposites of acceptance. None of us are perfect, even in our
own eyes; all of us have certain traits that, given the chance, we would like to
change. We sometimes become overwhelmed when contemplating how far short we
fall of our ideals, so overwhelmed that we fear there’s no chance of becoming the
people we’d like to be. That’s when our defense mechanism of denial kicks in, taking
us to the opposite extreme: nothing about ourselves needs changing, we tell
ourselves, so why worry? Neither extreme gives us the freedom to change.
Whether we are long-time NA members or new to recovery, the freedom to change is
acquired by working the Twelve Steps. When we admit our powerlessness and the
unmanageability of our lives, we counteract the lie that says we don’t have to
change. In coming to believe that a Power greater than we are can help us, we lose
our fear that we are damaged beyond repair; we come to believe we can change. We
turn ourselves over to the care of the God of our understanding and tap the strength
we need to make a thorough, honest examination of ourselves. We admit to God, to
ourselves, and to another human being what we’ve found. We accept the good and
the bad in ourselves; with this acceptance, we become free to change.
Just for today: I want to change. By working the steps, I will counter fear and denial
and find the acceptance needed to change.