Become willing

Drop defenses

Drop our protective devices

and to begin to seek peace and healing in all our relationships.

We search out our indiscretions toward self and others.

It means we become willing to seek peace and reparation in all our relationships, past or present. 

I would be entirely justified, I thought, if I withdrew into a cave, became a recluse, and never spoke to any of them again. 

That place, however justified, is not pleasant. It is not a place of feeling connected with myself or others. It's a place constructed of and decorated with fear. 

BETTER WAY- an open heart, a connection to people, ourselves, and our Higher power- and healing in relationships, past and present. 

Willingness- to be at peace with the people in our lives, including ourselves- free of guilt, fear, resentment, and ill feelings because of what has transpired in our pasts.

Our pasts have not been a mistake... All that has come into our lives was designed to prepare us to become who we are and to help us learn the lessons we came here to learn.  There is a purpose and a gift from each relationship, even the most painful relationships. The longer I work at recovery and the less I view myself as a victim, the more receptive I am to these gifts.