The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
Today's reading in Courage to Change is about humility. It suggests many of us were taught from an early age to place the wants and needs of others ahead of our own. This taught us to equate humility with taking care of others and ignoring our own feelings and needs.
In recovery, we learn that true humility is not degrading nor does it require us to neglect ourselves. In fact humility is measured by our willingness to do our part in our spiritual relationship with a power great than us instead of how much we do for others.
In recovery, humility begins with the First Step of our program. When we admit we are powerless, we make room for the possibility that a power greater than self can attend to that which is beyond our reach. Step One and humility help us see what is our responsibility vs. what is not. As we gain clarity, we better can do our part and ask God to do the rest.
Today's Reminder --- Part of learning humility is learning to contribute to my own well-being. Today I will do something loving for myself that I'd normally do for someone else.
Tooday's Quote --- From Joseph Fort Newton -- "We cannot tell what may happen to us in the strange medley of life. But we can decide what happens in us - how we can take it, what we do with it - and that is what really counts in the end."
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I was taught as the reading suggests - do for others. While the concept of giving is a great one that we should all embrace, I overdid/abused this act which then made it a defect. I certainly was one who ran around ragged and crazily doing for others and then wondering why on earth were they so ungrateful? I have no doubt that the concept of service, humility and more were distorted in me when I arrived at Al-Anon, and probably much longer than that.
I came to recovery with a negative definition of humility and humble. I equated these terms to point at weakness. It was eye-opening for me to learn there is power in being humble (teachable) and the act of humility paved my path to serenity. When I owned my powerlessness, and began to trust that a power greater than me was in the driver's seat, I felt a load lesson on my shoulders.
Today, as part of my morning routine, I ask to be led through my day to the next right thing, based on a life of service. I pray for those in recovery, those in need of recovery and those suffering from the affects of this disease. I practice keeping my eyes/ears open and my mouth closed, in the hopes I can hear my HP speak through others. When I align with this program, my days are peaceful and joyful even when the world beyond me is in a different state.
May your day be blessed and your spirit be at peace. We have some sunshine today, and I am grateful....it's been more cloudy/rainy than I prefer so with the sunshine my spirit lifts. Make it a great day family!
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Practice the PAUSE...Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you are about to react harshly and you will avoid doing and saying things you will later regret. ~~~~ Lori Deschene
Good morning IAH great topic! I too equated humility with being "less than" and that I should put others first, and ignore my needs. I was so pleased to find that Al-Anon promotes the idea of humility and has redefined it in a way that I can practice it with dignity and self-care.
Accepting the fact that humility means that I do "my part" and then I let go and trust that a power greater than myself is in charge really made all the difference.
I needed to redefine my principles, which I had abandoned, learn to place these principles above personalities and then act in my own best interest. This actually did mean that I would check with myself first to see how I was feeling ,determine to treat everybody with courtesy and respect and accept the fact that I was powerless over people places and things. That powerlessness really did require much work. When I finally reached " Acceptance of life on life's tems" I experienced was peace and knew had achieved a great gift . I am so pleased that I have embraced the concept of humanity and am truly grateful to the program for allowing me to do this.
Hey Betty - thanks for your ESH - great share....we split - means we won one and lost one. Sometimes, softball can be like junior high -- so we had a small amount of drama. I feel badly for the team manager - he's a very nice guy, and very young. So, when faced with one negative bad sportsmanship guy who was toxic to the team, he was not sure how to handle it....we talked for a while and he's got some suggestions - we'll see how it goes!
It was a lovely night to be at the fields! Great weather, great friends and great fun! Playing again tonight - and we've got another great day for weather. Hope you have a great day!
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Practice the PAUSE...Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you are about to react harshly and you will avoid doing and saying things you will later regret. ~~~~ Lori Deschene
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