Isolation

Terrible isolation: Dreadful; causing terror, alarm, and fear. (Ed. Note: So you're alone and afraid, terrified, and alarmed. Lovely. Desirable. Something to shoot for. An admirable state of being.)

Torture: Intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony. (Ed. Note: So you're alone, isolated, intentionally causing yourself agony. Great. Wow, go for it.)

Suffer: To undergo hardship; to feel pain; to become worse. (Ed. Note: So our aloneness, our isolation, causes us to feel pain. OK, then, great.)

For one thing, we shall get rid of that terrible sense of isolation we’ve always had.  Almost without exception, alcoholics are tortured by loneliness . . . nearly all of us suffered the feeling that we didn't quite belong. 

Terrible Burden: A cause of worry; that which is previous, worrisome, or oppressive. (Ed. Note: So adding the aforementioned definition of terrible to the concept of a heavy load makes me say: Huzzah! Hooray!! Let's all enjoy our terrible burdens!)

The feeling of being at one with God and man, this emerging from isolation through the honest and open sharing of our terrible burden of guilt.   . . . the sense of relief at finally facing ourselves is indescribable. . . 

For people who hate pain so much we sure cause a lot of it. The lifting of the pain begins when we start to look at ourselves honestly and to share these dark secrets with other . . . you know . . . alive people.

In actual practice, we usually find a solitary self-appraisal insufficient.

You're kidding me? I can't sit by myself, in front of The TV, and break my arm patting myself on the back about what a great guy I am? I can't do that? "Seaweed, you're the best. None of this is really your fault." Shit, that works for me. Why would I need to check that kind of wisdom with anyone else?

I also like that, after being assaulted with words like terrible and torture and suffer we're offered this surprisingly prissy sentence, antiseptic and scrubbed of all censure: "Well, Buffy, could it be that only two types of canapes are a tad insufficient? My caterer usually thinks so."

Peace: A state of tranquility, quiet, and harmony; a state free from oppressive and unpleasant thoughts and emotions.

Ease: Freedom from worry and concern; freedom from pain, hardship, and annoyance; freedom from difficulty.

Freedom! Freedom!

We can look the world in the eye.  We can be alone in perfect peace and ease.  Our fears fall from us.  We begin to feel the nearness of our Creator.

Now this sounds pretty good. Perfect peace and ease. Fearless. Looking straight ahead with confidence.