An Even Plane

 LIGHTING THE DARK PAST

Cling to the thought that, in God’s hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have --- the key to life and happiness of others. With it you can avert death and misery for them.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 124

No longer is my past an autobiography; it is a reference book to be taken down, opened and shared. Today as I report for duty, the most wonderful picture comes through. For, though this day be dark --- as some days must be --- stars will shine even brighter later. My witness that they do shine will be called for in the near future. All my past will this day be a part of me, because it is the key, not the lock.

DAILY REFLECTIONS, p. 131

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I tell myself to just be honest and refrain from the temptation to exaggerate the facts. Such embellishment is where the ego takes over to make my case look extreme enough to be the cause of all my past troubles. Early on I heard one sage say; “We are not bad people getting good… we are sick people getting well.” Isn’t it enough that I might have a genetic predisposition to alcoholism? Humility doesn’t demand that I be the best of the best or the worst of the worst… that I spilled more booze on a weekend than some of these youngsters could have drunk in their lifetimes. To be straight forward about who I am takes a thorough inventory of the good and the bad in my past without blinders. Isn’t it better to know who if I am to be clear about myself and to be able to relate to you on an even plane? The ego is a con artist and will justify just about anything but it can’t stand up to an honest evaluation of the motives used to compel dishonest evasiveness. I am not a saint; however, in this light, I know that you're not trash either.

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