Feb. 27, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020
Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you’re a man, you take it. — Malcolm X
It does little good to complain about our spouse, lover, or parents. We only accentuate our role as victims when we say, “I would be happier if she were different,” or “If he would just get off my back, I would act better.” At times, we may have a knee-jerk loyalty to the victim within. Some of us take comfort in acting helpless and being taken care of; some of us relish the power of being catered to; some of us wallow in self-pity. These patterns of thought hinder our recovery and put a drag on our relationships. When we decide that we aren’t willing to live this way any longer, we are ready to assert our independence.
Real emancipation can’t come at someone else’s initiative or as a gift. It can only begin from within, by saying, “I will take my independence.” Then we begin to be responsible men because we own it on the inside.
Today, I will not wait for others to set me free. I will do what is within my own power to be a free man.
Hazelden Foundation

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