For Today: December 21st

Exuberance is beauty.
William Blake

Western culture seems to squelch exuberance.  As children, most of us are required to conform to a fairly rigid standard of “good” conduct in the classroom and at home.  Mustn’t be too expressive, too joyous; it is discomfiting to the grown-up person in charge.  Soon, the children, taking their cue from authority, begin to make fun of too much display, too unrestrained a show of how good it feels to be alive in this beautiful world.

How does a full-grown human learn to express exuberance?  Perhaps it is not possible to retrieve what was once lost, but this program of recovery comes close.  The more I practice being “as a child,” especially when I take steps three and eleven, the more my spirit is seized with an untamed joy demanding expression.

For Today:  I am not afraid to enjoy what is beautiful, nor to express my exuberance in whatever way occurs to me.

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Expressing  exuberance is a natural thing to do.............part of being happy, joyous and free.  If I'm going to worry about other people's opinion of me, I'm going to squash myself.

The OA program has taught me to be my own person; to express my feelings in an honest way..........and to stop worrying about the repercussions.  I've spent most of my life trying to please others, at my own expense.  That prevented me from being able to take a stance myself.........prevented me from having real opinions and real feelings, because all I wanted to do was have everyone like me.

Today, I can accept the fact that not everyone needs to like me..........I need to like me.  And, in order to do that, I have to behave myself in a certain way.  I must be honest with myself and with others, I must follow my food plan, I must recognize my character defects & work on ridding myself of them; I must admit my wrongs & promptly apologize when I've hurt someone's feelings...............the 12 Steps give me a blueprint on how I can go about liking me.  

For today, I will not be afraid to be as a child...........to feel my exuberance & to live with an untamed joy that demands expression!