As we dig deeper into the benefits of the Inventory, we want to get started with asking ourselves some basic questions,
Who am I? What do I want ? Who is my God?
I recommend that you spend some time reflecting upon these questions as we continue our discussion of seeking more information on who we are as a person. This self-disclosure process can provide us with valuable insights as to those areas of our lives which have been responsible for the way we are today. This includes an examination of the way we think, feel and live out our daily lives.
In the early days of my own recovery, I began to put together a workbook where I used the three questions listed above and focused on each of the Twelve Steps. With each step, I listed a number of questions which I felt would help me discover the areas in my life which I had never really examined in any detail. An important issue here is that when I was depressed I didn’t have a clue as to what was happening to me. I felt like my mind and body were spiraling down a slippery slope.
My first reaction to this sudden fear was to create even more fear as my mind swirled around, attempting to stop whatever it was that suddenly and without warning, had me locked in a mental turmoil. As I was oblivious to the fact that I had unconsciously and gradually beat myself up over the previous months , creating guilt and shame, resulting that I became physically and emotionally immobilized. Eventually , I discovered that this was called depression.
Back to our inventory. Only with the help of the newly formed Depressed Anonymous group, a fellowship that was using the Twelve Steps for their recovery. It was when I admitted that I was powerless over my depression, that the real work had its beginning.
If you want to examine your own life, with a personal thumb print of your strengths and weakness, then today is a good day to get started.
As an exercise in recovery, write down your own responses to the three questions listed in the title of today’s blog . Take your time, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Again , we are taking time out to find out who we are…not who people said we were. It will not surprise you that what others said you were in your early life, favorable or not, stays with you into your teen years, adult life.
As we move along in our recovery, answering the questions in the workbook, gradually our examined life will provide you with information that you may never have thought about.
So, next time I meet with you at our blog, I hope you will have made a start in discovering something about yourself. The inventory is about making progress–not being perfect.
The Depressed Anonymous Workbook. (Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville , Ky.
If you have questions please let me know. My email address is: [email protected]