Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022
Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
One cannot always be a hero, but one can always be a man. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
In our former grandiose, all-or-nothing lifestyles, many of us have had a lot of experience being heroes and being failures. Until we had achieved some sanity, we didn’t have much experience with being ordinary, genuine men. Many of us thought there was something fundamentally wrong with us. We tried to be great, and when we failed we felt less than human. Our shame in those experiences seemed to say we would never be normal again.
We are learning that being genuine is far more fulfilling than being great. We no longer have to swing between the opposite extremes of hero and coward. When we become honest with ourselves, we develop an internally respectful relationship with ourselves. That is when we become true men. The courage it has taken for us and others on this journey to become honest is heroic in the deepest sense of the word.
As I find the courage to be honest, I will become more genuine.
Hazelden Foundation
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