The basis of all 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is humility, the spirit of which is necessary in keeping our egos deflated. Admitting to our innermost self that we are alcoholic, learning to trust in God, and making a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God are all steps on the road to humility. In the Fourth Step, identifying who we are and acceptance of what that means is both ego-deflating and humbling. As for myself, the most paramount of steps in which I accepted humility was the 5th Step, during which I shared my 4th Step - the deepest, darkest side of myself - with myself, God and another human being.In the 7th Step we offer all of ourselves, the good and the bad, to God - to do with us as He would do so that our human character defects do not manifest themselves in our behavior. Another step in which humility occurs is the 9th Step,as we go out and make our amends, reconciling the wrongs we have done in the past. And finally the 11th Step, in which recovered alcoholics reside, praying only for the knowledge of God's will and the power to carry that out. All of these steps can only be performed and will only be successfully taken with a humbled spirit.
Humility unlocks the door to the Grace of God. Only through such a humbled spirit may we recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body - making humility absolutely necessary.
Written by Armand
Edited by Caitlin Alexandra
Humility is the passport into God's will. It is an asset to my repertoire that provokes life into the cord between He and I. The likelihood of humility is weakened with distractions and selfishness. Focusing on making myself the center of my world is my innate priority.
ReplyDeleteIn this world I live in a battle befalls - every part of my physical and spiritual realities are comprised of noise and contagions. To fight these I must dethrone my ego with prayer. I must plea as David did for God to search me and see if there is any wickedness and to tell me what He finds. When I ask, He replies.
The great task is to lean on Him, and to not do so is my attempt to fit Him into my intended plans - irrational and unvirtuous. To oblige in His intentions for me is vital to my recovery, therefore to my life. Fruition of this is completed only through prayer with Him and for that cord to be used as a vessel of strength and love and a path to His throne. The more impregnable the cord, the lessened forces of noise and distraction.
I pray to become more akin to His plan, not mine, by humbling myself so that this may occur - and in doing so take the steps of this program His way, not mine.
Caitlin integrate the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous into your life in such a way that it becomes your life and you will have experienced the humility necessary to perceive and to do God's will for you...Thank you...Armand
DeleteIt was the relentless war between my conscious and my unconscious that disallowed me to have any real understanding of humility. The reason is simple: my unconscious doesn't function as a thinking operative. Whereas, my conscious can think me into saying or behaving in any way at all. A dangerous way for a fear-based, alcoholic mind to function. False pride and inflated ego were the result. Yes, we learn that humility is necessary to understand and incorporate The Steps into my life until they become my life. The nuance, for me, is that humility is the outcome of living within the safety of The Steps, not something my human nature brought to the process. Today I believe that humility is knowing and loving who I am in this moment, secure in the exciting knowledge that by practicing the program of recovery explained in The Big Book, I will evolve one day at a time into the person I was born to be. In truth, I wish for nothing more.
ReplyDeleteMichael to become the human being that God created us to be brings a joy and peace to our lives regardless of the outside perception of our life. In His will we are the possessor of true humility...Thanks...Armand
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