“they show the underlying reasons why they were making heavy going of life” (Page 51, Big Book)
“We think each family which has been relieved owes something to those who have not, and when the occasion requires, each member of it should be only too willing to bring former mistakes, no matter how grievous, out of their hiding places. Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing which makes life seem so worth while to us now. Cling to the thought that, in God’s hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have—the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them.” (Page 124, Big Book)
Being weighed down by the past was why I was making heavy going of life.
Surrender, Inventory, Confession, Amends.
The past is still entirely with me but it is entirely transparent and light as a feather; the collection of figures that populate it, a glass menagerie.
Now useful in its display case as a set of curios.