Ignorance

 Ignorance usually precedes boasting.  We think we can do something we cannot.  The ignorance often hides our sense of fear or cowardice.  It hides our sense of self-preservation.  So we say we will accomplish this or do that, but when the time comes we renege.  Peter saying he would die for Jesus is a famous example.  A spiritual path will reveal that which hid in our darkness.  You face your real self not the false one you show to the public.  Recovery programs do this.  Through self-examination a person discovers their inventory of strength and weakness.  They ask for “courage” to change.  They do not assume they have built in courage.  Ignorance is anathema to recovery.  Meditation, thought by newbies to be soothing, often reveals to us stuff we did not know was there, the darkness that trips us up.  Alone, we can do nothing much against this ignorance.  So we seek a power that knows us and can help us.