If You Want What We Have

[bluidkiti]

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We should pray as if everything depended upon God, and act as if everything depended upon us.
ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL

Newcomer
I hear so much about “letting go.” But there are serious situations going on in my life that I can’t ignore. Am I supposed to assume that things will get better on their own if I just let go?

Sponsor
The phrase “letting go,” as it’s used in the program, doesn’t mean ignoring problematic situations, reneging on commitments, or repressing feelings. On the contrary, recovery makes it possible for us to take the responsible actions we feared and avoided when we were active in our addictions.

“Letting go” challenges our illusion that we’re in control of the universe, but it doesn’t suggest that we do nothing. There’s a difference between acting responsibly and thinking we’re in charge of how things turn out. We’re responsible only for the actions we choose to take, not the outcomes. When we take an action that we know to be right, we change ourselves in the process. The effect on others is out of our hands. We don’t have power to change other people. Nor can we change the past. Letting go means accepting our human limitations. It’s great relief to know that we’re neither the cause nor the cure for most problems.