Self
Self
The first act of bad faith consists of evading what one cannot evade, of evading what one is. Jean-Paul Sartre
When did we learn to pretend to be other than we were? When did we learn that what or who we were wasn’t good enough — that we could never do or say or be enough?
We learned in childhood, as did our parents & their parents as well. Wearing a mask was a habit that evolved into becoming that mask, while our real selves disappeared.
In many ways, our real selves are still untested. But unlike the old days when they’d emerge only under pressure, we now try our real selves on like new clothes — first in a locked room when no one’s looking; later, in the open air & finally, with other people.
Being who we are is scary & strange & awkward at first, but it is an act of faith, one that builds upon the next act. These acts of faith are the process that is our recovery.
Today help me show my real face, if only for a moment.
When did we learn to pretend to be other than we were? When did we learn that what or who we were wasn’t good enough — that we could never do or say or be enough?
We learned in childhood, as did our parents & their parents as well. Wearing a mask was a habit that evolved into becoming that mask, while our real selves disappeared.
In many ways, our real selves are still untested. But unlike the old days when they’d emerge only under pressure, we now try our real selves on like new clothes — first in a locked room when no one’s looking; later, in the open air & finally, with other people.
Being who we are is scary & strange & awkward at first, but it is an act of faith, one that builds upon the next act. These acts of faith are the process that is our recovery.
Today help me show my real face, if only for a moment.
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