“Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.” This, to me, was the true “action” Step. It required asking the power outside of myself to change me, to make me something alien to myself. ~ Voices of Recovery (Kindle Locations 2084-2087).

Something alien to myself,
beyond any semblance of comfort,
foreign – speaking language
I not only don’t know
but never heard, I’m sure…
If I’m turning it over, letting go,
the old familiar is enemy, is wrong,
is anathema. The unknown,
uncomfortable, unearthly is right.
Something not from me,
never of me, seemingly incompatible
my only hope of peace, of harmony,|
of wholeness, of humanity.
My role is only willingness,
release, surrender, deference
to the power that can make me whole
and blend the alien with my essence.