On this day as I contemplate my bittersweet feelings about this place called America, I remember how painful becoming conscious can be.

32 years ago today I threw in the towel on drinking and drug use and decided to give this thing called sobriety a try. It’s been a long and rocky road and I’ve slipped a few times along the way, but I have no regrets.

Today as I contemplate the original bold intentions of the founding fathers I know that declaring an intention is only the first step of the journey. We’ve come a long way, but there is still obviously a long way to go when it comes to “liberty and justice for all.”

In 12 Step programs, Step 4 involves taking a “fearless and through moral inventory” where we review those we have harmed and become willing to make amends to them all. This is the leg of the journey where we pick up the stones and discover all the creepy crawlies that lie beneath the surface that we haven’t been willing to acknowledge or deal with before. It’s a time of reckoning. A process of facing what is there before us and becoming willing to do the work to stand in integrity, once again, or perhaps for the first time. It is not a process for the faint of heart, but it is most definitely a journey worth taking.

This is my prayer for myself and for America this 4th of July, that we become willing to do the work to not only stay awake and aware, but that we stand in strong integrity with the original intention that brought us here.

For myself I celebrate this day and my personal freedoms. I am grateful to have come this far knowing I still have a long way to go.

As the usual rockets red glare and the bombs bursting in air begins, please take a moment with me to be grateful for the freedoms we enjoy, and let us set our intention anew to remain conscious and compassionate with ourselves and all others on this journey.

Let freedom ring! 🔔