By: Vince DiPasquale
Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
The month of July is always dedicated to the theme of freedom and responsibility. Freedom is something we all take for granted to enjoy but really involves work and responsibility. Our 12 step program is the most spiritual formula to help us achieve serenity and peace. So many times, we trap ourselves in our past period. I want to let you in on a secret – yesterday is over. It’s history! We have all experienced many lessons and yesterday was our teacher. We need to face yesterday, embrace it, accept it and make peace with it and then release it. We need to release the past so we can live totally in the present. A long time ago, my dad, God rest his soul, taught me a powerful lesson. He was an immigrant and brought his customs with him. We had a simple row house in Camden and my dad had a garden in our yard. He would only use fresh horse manure in his garden and his plants were beautiful and productive. One day when I was young, I was with him in our yard. He said to me, “Vince, come here!” In those days when your dad said come here, you listened. He told me to pick up a handful of soil and taste it. He said there is no more manure, it had been changed into life giving vitamins and minerals for the plants. This lesson has helped me realize that our history is simply our experiences. If we face them and learn from them and let them become our strength, we will be able to bring our past into the present period. If we follow this theory, there is no such thing as a bad experience, they are just lessons for us to learn to help us face and enjoy today. If we have an open mind and learn to share our history, we will be able to let go and let God.
Our 12 step program gives us a formula for settling and realizing our past. Steps 4 through 9 teach valuable lessons on the process of healing. Period. Life is such a beautiful process if we can trust that we are guided on our journey.
- Step 4 We are taught to make a fearless moral inventory of our life, to face our past without fear or guilt. We are also told to write about our history. Writing is a way to make it concrete and real. This is the first process of healing.
- Step 5 We are told to share our story with ourselves, God, and other humans. A great lesson in humility and trust. Through sharing, we are once again releasing. Healing only takes place through sharing. On a deeper level, when we share our history and the lessons that we’ve learned with others, it allows them to share their history. At this moment we are participating in the Great Human Library. Our story is a book in the process of being written one chapter at a time.
- Steps 6 & 7 Teaches us to acknowledge our defects of character. It reminds us that we are human. It’s special to be a simple human being, yet we need to realize that for every defective character we have an asset. For every negative there is a positive. If we are open, our defects become our greatest gifts. We are all gifted and special creatures, created by God in His image. If we are open to the process of life, we will continue to discover how powerful our assets are. We must invest in life and steps 6 and 7 remind us of our humanity, humility and our need to stay connected to our Higher power.
- Steps 8 & 9 Teaches us to make peace and settlement with all our life experiences. Especially to make peace within ourselves. The person we have hurt the most is ourselves. We all tend to be tough on ourselves. The real secret of life is to be at peace within. Serenity is a gift to be earned. I truly believe if you are at peace with yourself, your energy will go forth to heal others if they are open to the process.
To release our past is the wonderful art of seeking personal freedom. Each one of us was sent on this earth by our Creator, and we were told that we would receive guides to show us our way. If we can face life and be open to the spirit, we will be shown the path starting with our parents and family and extending to all people, places and things, even the trauma, hurt and pain. If we can trust in God’s plan, learn our lessons, celebrate and enjoy the journey, we will be led one day back to our Creator. God wants all of us to experience a real gift of freedom. Yet to begin to experience it, we must experience dysfunctionality to learn how to grow. As we celebrate the month of Freedom, let’s remember to be open to facing our past and its lessons which will give the secret to success and inner peace. Enjoy the summer season and may God bless you!
