August 22: Spiritual Principle a Day, read by Fern

Spiritual Principle a Day for August 22, read by Fern

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August 22

Trust and the Fifth Step

"This may be the first time we’ve ever trusted another person enough to tell her or him about ourselves and allow that person to get to know us."

—It Works, Step Five

––––=––––

We addicts have lots of stories. What some consider to be deep, dark secrets others easily share, sometimes even as badges of honor. Many of us are fine with divulging the goriest details of our using days, the mayhem of our childhoods, and our experiences of victimization. Regarding the Fourth and Fifth Steps, we think, No problem, I am an open book! But, as we do the work that is suggested, perhaps using the Step Working Guides, there’s a depth inherent in those questions that goes way beyond our comfort. Exposing our own part in situations turns out to be messy, agonizing, and illuminating all at once. For many of us, our pettiness, our unforgiving nature or unkind acts, our ego on blast, our shame: These carefully guarded parts of ourselves turn out to be far more significant than the dramatic tales we thought we’d tell.

Thankfully, we’ve had the benefit and experience of the previous Steps to build trust in the program, each other, a Higher Power, and our sponsor. The Fifth Step is an opportunity for us to open our whole book and have another human being bear witness to the stories about ourselves that are the hardest to tell. As much as we’d been nervous about sharing our inventory with another person, it’s the first time we’ve admitted much of this business to ourselves.

Building a bond of trust takes courage as well as vulnerability. As we exercise that bond, a weight is lifted off our shoulders: We reveal the truth about ourselves and we’re not rejected. Many of us don’t even realize how distant we’ve been in our relationships as a result of the secrets we’d guarded. And often being seen as truly ourselves by one person allows us to feel much lighter and more open in other relationships. One bond of trust inspires us to form others.

––––=––––

Spiritual Principle:

I’m willing to practice trust by sharing my whole story with another person. I aim to build upon my ability to trust and be trustworthy by applying what I’ve learned to other relationships.

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© NA World Services

This podcast is not affiliated with Narcotics Anonymous, and is an independent production of the Works of Wisdom

Episode Transcript

(00:03):
Welcome to the Voices of Recovery podcast.
This is your Spiritual Principleof the Day episode featuring a
recovering addict. Hi, my name is Fern.

(00:23):
My clean date is January 5th, 1984.
You're listening to the Voices of Recovery podcast.
This is the spiritual principle of the day for August 22nd.
Trust and the 5th step. This may be the first time we've
ever trusted another person enough to tell her or him about

(00:47):
ourselves and allow that person to get to know us.
It works. Step 5.
We addicts have lots of stories.What some consider to be deep
dark secrets, others easily share, sometimes even as badges
of honor. Many of us are fine with

(01:07):
divulging the glorious details of our using days, the mayhem of
our childhood, and our experience of victimization.
Regarding the 4th and 5th steps,we think no problem, I am an
open book. But as we do the work that is
suggested, perhaps using the step working guides, there's a

(01:28):
depth inherent in those questions.
Goes way beyond our comfort. Exposing our own part in
situations turns out to be messy, agonizing and
illuminating all at once for many of us.
Our pettiness, our unforgiving nature or unkind acts, our ego

(01:49):
on blast, Our shame, these carefully guarded parts of
ourselves turn out to be far more significant than the
dramatic tales we thought we'd tell.
Thankfully, we've had the benefit and experience of the
previous steps to build trust inthe program, each other, and a

(02:10):
higher Power and our sponsor. The 5th step is an opportunity
for us to open the whole book and have another human being
bear witness to the stories about ourselves that are hardest
to tell. As much as we've been nervous
about sharing our inventory withanother person, it's the first

(02:31):
time we've admitted much of thisbusiness to ourselves.
Building a bond of trust takes courage as well as
vulnerability. As we exercise that bond, a
weight is lifted off our shoulders, we reveal the truth
about ourselves, and we're not rejected.

(02:52):
Many of us don't realize how distant we've been in our
relationships as a result of thesecrets we've guarded.
And often, being seen as truly ourselves by one person allows
us to feel much lighter and moreopen in other relationships. 1
bond of trust inspires us to form others spiritual principle.

(03:20):
I'm willing to practice trust bysharing my whole story with
another person. I aim to build my ability to
trust and be trustworthy by applying what I've learned in
other relationships. The Voices of Recovery Podcast
is an independent production of The Works of Wisdom.

(03:42):
We welcome your questions and donations via PayPal at
[e-mail]. This podcast is an independent
production and is not affiliatedwith, associated with,
authorized by, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected
with Narcotics Anonymous or any of its subsidiaries or
affiliates. While any literature may be read

(04:03):
during episodes for the purpose of supporting Recovery, such use
does not constitute an official endorsement or representation by
Narcotics Anonymous. In accordance with any
tradition, the NA name is not tobe used to endorse or be
affiliated with any outside enterprise, and no such
endorsement or affiliation is implied.
Music is by Sage. Thanks for listening to the

(04:24):
Voices of Recovery podcast.