From Steps 1 through 5, I have clearly seen the truth of my personality defects, false beliefs, distorted values, old ideas, and faulty paradigms; my denial has been smashed. Now alone at my home, am I now entirely ready to have God take them all? Am I willing to let them go absolutely? Faced with alcoholic destruction, I sincerely pray for the willingness. 

Here are twelve examples of willingness prayers my sponsor gave me during the fifth step:

I pray for the willingness:
  • to listen with my heart and mind.
  • to look at my relationship with you God as the primary source of my self-esteem. 
  • to feel true love and tolerance for myself and where I am on my path right now. 
  • to feel true love and tolerance for others and where they are on their path right now. 
  • to be centripetal à as opposed to centrifugal.
  • to practice unconditional love of self and my brothers and sisters. 
  • to let go of judgement of self and others.
  • to know in my heart that my sponsees are not a reflection of me, good or bad. 
  • to remember that I am powerless, without control.
  • to remember that the more judgmental people are of others, the more they are cruel to themselves. 
  • to protect others through maintaining anonymity, to protect those who have no words. 
  • to make room on the Ark for all the crazy animals – the peacocks, cows, sparrows, spiders, snakes, deer, lions, and salmon. 


That's a "thumbs-up" attitude that God loves. Yup, that's corn-ball... but freedom means embracing what the defect of pretentious cynicism would have mocked; so bring on the corn.  When I have willingness in Step 6, I start to move significantly closer to the high road to freedom. 
Picture
This photograph was taken as I was leaving the Sea of Galilee and heading back to Jerusalem. The small touring van had given us a couple of hours to meander and reflect within view of where the Sermon on the Mount was delivered, where Peter walked on water, and Legion's demons raged.