IT TAKES COURAGE TO LET GO…
Sophie Le Pendu
Counselor Aid and grateful sober alcoholic
More will be revealed: we can hear this a lot “in the rooms”, and many of us are still amazed when it happens… as we do not really believe that we can let go of what is poisoning our souls, our bodies, our lives… But working the program of Alcoholics Anonymous and following the suggestions we get in recovery, we learn that it’s actually a very brave and courageous process to allow ourselves to LET GO of what is obviously not serving us, drugs, alcohol, behaviors or even relationships… Some of us have to let go a job or a career because it doesn’t not fit any longer to their new way of life.
At some point, we let go of the bias we have about ourselves…I am like this, I am not that kind, as we need to be ready to discover who we really are. The veil of the addiction is removed, and we get to meet the new us. To thine own self be true…
“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become”: Carl Jung is telling us that we have options, we can choose to take this path, not easy but simple: pray God, clean house and help others. But this takes courage, the courage to change mentioned in the Serenity Prayer. Leaving our comfort zone is frightening, but for some of us, this is all we know, all we think we can control, even though it does not work. But when we jump out, we enter the learning zone, how exciting and wonderful, whatever is our age, our circumstances, or our wealth… And we soon learn that in recovery that the only thing we cannot do is to pick up this drug, this bottle, this behavior. Hence, we practice letting go, surrender to win, the ultimate paradox of the 12 steps program.
This image is one I created from a collage when I started to study art-therapy. It took me a lot of “courage” to create this poster, as I was so convinced about “not having any artistic skill or talent.” But once I admitted “I don’t know that” and became ready to let go the need of doing something “special” or “beautiful” or “perfect,” I managed to start it and enjoyed myself in the process! And this applies very much to my journey from alcoholism and depression to sobriety and contentment. I gathered symbols that were rightly pertinent to represent the courage it takes to change, like the stairs, the horse metamorphoses, to keep in mind that my chosen life is a process that I fully embrace one day at the time. The whole activity was very much about letting go. I highly encourage newcomers in recovery to explore what works for them, and for this, letting go of old ideas about ourselves is necessary. And letting go is a form of courage.
Sophie Le Pendu
Counselor Aid and grateful sober alcoholic