Fears

I never let go of anything that doesn't have claw and bite marks on it.  Letting Go is not what I do.

Fear: A strong, uncontrollable, unpleasant emotion or feeling caused by actual or perceived danger or threat.

I've looked this word up so many times I should have it memorized.  In my defense "fear" or some variation of the word appears in the Big Book 114 times so it's obviously a common topic.  I do like that fear can be caused by a "perceived" threat which is given as much weight as the "actual" threat; as in, monsters under the bed and/or in the closet.

We reviewed our fears thoroughly.  We put them on paper, even though we had no resentment in connection with them.

Yes, it's a written inventory. You have to write it down. You can't just think it.

Dangerous: Exposure to likely harm; peril.

. . . what comes to us alone may be garbled by our own rationalization and wishful thinking.  Going it alone in spiritual matters is dangerous.  How many times have we heard well-intentioned people claim the guidance of God when it was all too plain that they were surely mistaken.

The point here is that my thinking is usually . . . well . . . crap. That's why I talk to a . . . you know . . . other person. How many men of religion out there spout crap and believe it because they're so convinced that they're so special that God is talking directly to them and giving them special information that no one else is privy to. Oh, brother. This is a small minority of religious leaders, to be sure, but often a vocal one.

Some will object to many of the questions posed because they think their own character defects have not been so glaring.  To those it can be suggested that a conscientious examination is likely to reveal the very defects the objectionable questions are concerned with.

We shall claim that our serious character defects, if we think we have any at all, have been caused chiefly by excessive drinking.

They have been persuaded, and rightly so, that many problems besides alcohol will not yield to a headlong assault by the individual alone.

I'm not so bad. And it's the drinking that made me to do it. So, once I quit drinking, then I'll be all better. "Nothing to see here, ma. Ain't it grand the wind stopped blowin.' " Oh, brother.

. . . . his character defects, representing instincts gone astray , have been the primary cause of his drinking and his failure at life . . .

We learned that if we were seriously disturbed, our first need was to quiet that disturbance, regardless of what or who we thought caused it.

Here we get some practical advice about our defects; namely, that our defects ARE the problem. Our instincts are all whacked out of shape so we better do some re-whacking.

The moment we ponder a twisted or broken relationship with another person, our emotions go on the defensive.

. . . we must be sure that we cannot buy our own peace of mind at the expense of others.

It's not them. It's you.

These fears are the termites that ceaselessly devour the foundation of whatever sort of life we try to build. . . .