Accept My Humanness

From: "A Nourishing Ingredient

"How often do I focus on my problems and frustrations? When I am having a 'good day' these same problems shrink in importance and my preoccupation with them dwindles. Wouldn't it be better if I could find a key to unlock the 'magic' of my 'good days' for use on the woes of my 'bad days'?

I already have the solution! Instead of trying to run away from my pain and wish my problems away, I can pray for humility! Humility will heal the pain.

I AM AN INSTRUMENT

The subject of humility is a difficult one. Humility is not thinking less of myself than I ought to; it is acknowledging that I do certain things well, it is accepting a compliment graciously.

God can only do for me what He can do through me. Humility is the result of knowing that God is the doer, not me. In the light of his awareness, how can I take pride in my accomplishments? I am an instrument and any work I seem to be doing is being done by God through me. I ask God on a daily basis to remove my shortcomings, in order that I may more freely go about my A.A. business of "love and service."

Daily Reflections

IDENTIFYING FEAR . . .

The chief activator of our defects has been self -
centered fear. . . . .
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 76

When I feel uncomfortable, irritated, or depressed, I
look for fear. This "evil and corroding thread" is the
root of my distress: Fear of failure; fear of other's
opinions; fear of harm, and many other fears.

I have found a Higher Power who does not want me to live in
fear and, as a result, the experience of A.A. in my
life is freedom and joy.

Defect Of Character

At the heart of Steps Six and Seven

Before a request that my Higher Power remove my defects of character could make sense there was, for me, a lot of self-discovery required.

Beneath unhealthy behaviors are the defects from which unhealthy behaviors grow. People say that their anger, fear, or intolerance are their defects of character. I think I know what they mean, but I'd like to be more precise.

Blindness, coughing, or uncontrollable shaking are unhealthy symptoms, but they aren't physical defects like glaucoma or TB. Likewise emotions or behaviors may be distressing or unhealthy, but they aren't the character defects.

Death-Coming to grips with urgency

Coming to grips with urgency

I stumbled at Step Six and fell flat on Step Seven. I had to go back and do stuff that would help me find the "humility" needed in Seven to be "entirely ready" in Six.

One of things that happened during my remedial period was finding this snappy jingle:

I know I'm going to die.

I know not the hour of my death.

What shall I do today?

These three lines are about as extreme a condensation of my spiritual path as words can make.

Understanding humility

“Humility is a result of getting honest with ourselves.” Basic Text, p. 36 Humility was an idea so foreign to most of us that we ignored it as long as we could.  When we first saw the word “humbly” ahead in Step Seven, we may have figured it meant we had quite a bit of humiliation in store.  Perhaps we chose to look it up in the dictionary, only to become even more confused by the definition.  We didn’t understand how “lowliness and subservience” applied to recovery. To be humble does not mean we are the lowest form of life.  On the contrary, becoming humble means we attain a realistic view of ourselves and where we fit in the world.  We grow into a state of awareness founded on our acceptance of all aspects of ourselves.  We neither deny our good qualities nor overemphasize our defects.  We honestly accept who we are.

Big Book pg 76-82 -my share Step 6 thru 9

Click to Read
pg 76-82

Donna S grateful Alcoholic from NJ


 Starting back with Step 6.... I reailzed that if I didn't have a good connection with a higher power that I would have trouble with Step 6, 7, 8, & 9 which I did the first time I did the Step work. I didn't really get Step 3 so my 4th & 5th were half heartily, so when I got to Step 6 the second time I redid my steps, I understood I had to Pray again for more willingness. That's all I had to do and look at the defects  I had which I found in my 4th step. By now I basically knew which defects were very troublesome . I KNEW if I continued with those defects I WAS going to drink , as I almost did, as i have mentioned many times in here.  I found I had to have a total willingness to let them go in Step7.  I had to ask my Higher Power to take them from me.... meaning I had to LET THEM GO.

Step 6 & 7--share

 Donna S grateful recovering alcoholic from NJ

These 2 steps  are the shortest steps in the big book.
When I first did step work I hadn't a clue what charactor defects were. How could I ? no one ever told me about them , they just said I was selfish, self-centered, dishonest, etc.  I  just thought I was drinking to much, that the people in my life just wanted to me to stop drinking  OK  i did that when i came back in the rooms in 1999 . I was fortunate that the desire to drink left me pretty quick but then my sponsor said i needed to stop acting out. Hmm,  well define that please....but see I didn't ask questions i went to meetings and listend as best i could in the early days, that's about all i was capable of doing.  As as time went on  and my second sponsor took me threw the steps,  she told me what my