I found that in compiling my Fourth Step resentment
list, the best way to deal with resentment was to pray for and forgive
those on my list. In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous in the
chapter How It Works it states "we realize that the people who had
wronged us were perhaps spiritually sick. Though we did not like their
symptoms and the way they disturbed us, they like ourselves were sick
to. We ask God to help us grant them the same tolerance, pity and
patience we would grant a sick friend. When a person offended we said
to ourselves, perhaps this is a sick person, how can I be helpful to
them. God save me from being angry, thy will be done. God will show us
how to take a kind and tolerant view of each and everyone." As we draw
closer to God, in most situations this begins to happen automatically.
As an alcoholic we find that resentment is the number one offender to a serene and peaceful life.
If
we are to have a state of consciousness that is clear and free of
conflict, if we are to lead an alcohol free life, a life where
resentment is not causing conflict in our mind and therefore not
manifested in our behavior than we must let go of our human resentments
and there often is no way possible without the help of God.
When living in the will of God there are no coincidences . While attending a particular A.A. Meeting recently, I found myself feeing some ill will towards another fellow . It had seemed that as I listened to some others, they also found this man to be rude, opinionated , and overly bossy . As I watched his behavior before, during, and after meetings I began to feel resentful towards him. Every time I would see him or if his name came up I began to feel that anger rising again. God reached out to me, I was directed by no other human to go to him last night and ask him to tell his story for a group that I was chairing next week . By this act of kindness, and I mean reaching out to him with the guidance of The Holy Spirit, for real ! It changed everything that I felt about him. Wow! I was so humbly moved. I saw him in a whole different light, he accepted so gracefully and seemed so humbled that I asked him. My Lord and my God , I was so humbled also. I can't wait to hear his story. These things happen time and time again, and my relationship with God is strengthened as I strengthen my relationships with my fellow man and women, Let go and let God, Amen !
ReplyDeleteDon You have described well the power of God brought to us through the program of Alcoholics Anonymous...Thank You...Armand
ReplyDeleteIt is truly enlightening to assess, through The Fourth Step, how much less conflict my mind had to process when I squarely faced my part in any and every resentment. Resentments simply don't exist when I take responsibility for them which actually helps to relieve me of the burden of myself. For me, if the desired goal is to have the grace of Love flowing through me, then I must accept responsibility, learn to forgive and move on to an unencumbered life. To move from the thicket of resentment to the quiet stream of peace is only possible by trusting in the Power of transformation available to anyone who seeks Recovery through commitment to The Twelve Steps of AA as outlined in The Big Book.
ReplyDeleteMichael What a wonderful comment especially when you said "to move from the thicket of resentment to the quiet stream of peace is only possible by trusting in the Power of transformation...." .It is truly wonderful to experience a consciousness not cluttered by resentment...Thanks...Armand
ReplyDeleteThere is no possible way without God's help to let go of the resentments weighing on our bereft souls because we CREATED those resentments with our own destructive and rude human nature. Anything and everything created by our selfish and fearful human nature and its instincts cannot be destroyed with them - attempts are sad at a TRUE compilation of what the spiritual program asks of us. I tried to skimp out on doing anything but show up for meetings- but to no avail did my conscious clear, was my thought process uprooted out of the dirt, or my behavior a reflection of God's true purpose for me. I had to accept the help of God no matter what that meant because firstly, my life depended on it, and secondly, my human intellect was at it's wits end. My soul knew no joy, no life, no friends until I admitted under every circumstance that I was indeed the most disturbed individual on my list, and therefore could only be forgiving of the remaining (less sick) individuals.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin I have often said "that one cannot drink alcohol and yet still suffer from untreated alcoholism." Alcohol is but a symbol of our true malady. Our true malady is self centered fear, afraid that we are not going to get what we want, afraid that we will lose what we have. Your writing "anything and everything created by our selfish and fearful human nature and its instincts cannot be destroyed by them." It then picks up "I tried to skimp out on doing anything but show up for meetings - but to no avail did my conscious clear........I had to accept the help of God." It is only through the surrender of our nature to the will of God that one recover from a seemi9ngly hopeless state of mind and body. Well said, it is clearly time for you to give it away...Thank You...Armand
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