I was listening to a prominent psychologist talk about “how to impose order on the chaos of our lives.” It was so brilliant, I had to listen to it twice because a lot of how he presents is way over my head. But the thing that stuck with me is that he said that there is tremendous adventure in telling the truth because you don’t know what’s going to happen.
Wow. So good.
When you hide things, they grow and you shrink. The opposite happens when you tell the truth—the things you were hiding shrink and YOU grow.
When the truth is told, it takes the power out of you carrying that in your head. It is always smaller out here than how you were spinning it in your head. That is the concept of recovery meetings. Sharing our stories and truths to each other takes the weight off of our shoulders. We find out that in walking sobriety with another, it lightens our load knowing that we are not alone.
I am not usually a huge risk-taker, but I have become one in sobriety. What that looks like for me now is this—I may hesitate to share that I am an alcoholic in recovery because of the judgement or stigma associated with saying it. And, when I do choose to share my truth about that, it almost always ends up helping somebody else! Which is now my main purpose. That is the adventure part. Taking that risk so that I may be of service to another.
So when I think of imposing order in the chaos of my life, it almost always involves telling my truth. Admitting I was an alcoholic (finally) was the leap of faith I needed to take. My truth. Now what to do next. I knew that I could not do it on my own power.
When I surrendered my will and life over to God, the adventure began. I needed help to live this live sober and to do that, I needed God and others like myself.
That’s why I still go to meetings after 6,143 days of sobriety—to hear God speak to me through others in the room. To watch that transformation in them and hear their truth, mine becomes—and remains—undeniable.
The truth really will set you free.
Try it.
Let the adventure begin.
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32
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