The important thing is not to stop questioning.
--Albert Einstein

We used to think we knew it all. We had grandiose ideas about ourselves. We stopped asking hard questions that could cause our fragile world of make-believe and deviousness to come crashing down. We protected our addiction by fleeing from the questions that could have started us on the road to recovery.

One day the questions flooded in unchecked. Why am I out of control? How come I can't look my beloved in the eye? Why don't I have time for my friends? Why do I get irritated with my children? Why do I feel so bad about myself, so filled with shame? Why can't I cope? Why is my life unmanageable?

Unmanageable? When we feel this question deeply, then we are already on the road to recovery, for we know we can't continue to go it alone. The question suggests an answer; we need others, a different system of support, a program of recovery, a Higher Power, serenity, love.

This is what we really wanted and needed, and this is what we find in our Twelve Step program.

Learning to be honest means continuing to ask questions about ourselves and our situation in the world. 

You are reading from the book:

Answers in the Heart by Anonymous

Answers in the Heart © 1989 by P. Williamson and S. Kiser. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden.