[nandm]

Day 6

Carol's Story

"The bitter and the sweet come from the outside, the hard from within, from one's own efforts." Albert Einstein

Carol told this story about getting ready for the Fifth Step. She decided she'd type out her inventory from Step Four so it would be legible enough for her sponsor to read----despite the fact that she'd never learned to type. However, her sponsor was a professional writer, so Carol felt it was very important that her inventory be letter-perfect.

Almost instantly she struck a wrong key. Now, Carol was in a quandary. If she erased it, her paper wouldn't look perfect. So she searched her mind for a word that would fit the letter she'd mistyped. Needless to say, this did not end up as a searching and fearless inventory. It was, though, the best she could do at the time. Carol was so afraid of looking inadequate that she couldn't bear to present a less than perfect paper.

Luckily, Carol's sponsor, who had overcome her own serious eating disorder, was able to assure her that no one grades our inventory and succeeded in helping her complete a satisfactory Fifth Step.

Nevertheless, the importance of what Carol accomplished must not be diminished. Despite the fact that the job was a superficial one, she did it. She demonstrated the willingness to follow directions---a primary ingredient in any recovery program.

Today's Step: I release the need to do a perfect inventory, and I get on with it.

Step by Step. Muriel Zink