March 25

”Two prisoners whose cells adjoin communicate with each other by knocking on the wall. The wall is the thing that separates them but is also their means of communication. It is the same with us and God. Every separation is a link.” Simone Weil

We all have our own defense systems. Normally we have gradually built a wall, over the years, to protect ourselves and so we can survive the barrage of things that hurt us. Our wall may be in the attitudes and behaviours we keep, the situations we engage in or avoid, the fact that we become very angry outwardly or suffer in solitude. Our walls often protect us from our shortcomings, feelings we have buried and refused to face and come to terms with. These can be based on anger, resentment, fear, hurt, loneliness, self-pity, jealousy, pride, envy or any number of other emotions. But if we can have the courage to share these through working Steps 7 and 8, by journaling, writing letters about our feelings, sharing with our sponsor or by some other means, we can begin to remove bricks from our walls and become more open to our Higher Power and others.

Affirmation My wall of defenses has served a useful purpose but I can examine it to remove things from the past that I need to let go.