"Recovery is not about perfection. It is in the becoming that we experience the promises of recovery." BRB p. xxiv

Some of us thought we had to figure out how to work the ACA program perfectly. We grew up in homes where that was the norm, and we expected nothing less of ourselves. We attended meetings and just "knew" everything would suddenly fall into place because we showed up and did the homework. However, in the rote process we followed, we missed the vital step of discovering and nurturing our Inner Child.

We didn't make room for our feelings and for the process that helps us uncover who we are truly meant to be. As a result, when we finally experienced a different bottom, one we didn't expect, we found our Higher Power waiting for us to reach out.

Now we accept that we are a work in progress, letting ourselves be where we are. We don't know all the answers and discover that we might not find them soon. We are learning to let go of perfection, and that's a hard nut to crack. We live with unsolved problems because it's part of being human. This is part of the freedom we are discovering. The promises of recovery are now being fulfilled.

On this day I let go of my own ideas of what recovery should look like and open my heart to what it is - a series of unfolding experiences that I welcome with gratitude.