DR & JFT May 17th

MAY 17th

. . . AND FORGIVE

Under very trying conditions I have had, again and again, to forgive others – also myself.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 268

Forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others are just two currents in the same river, both hindered or shut off completely by the dam of resentment. Once that dam is lifted, both currents can flow. The Steps of A.A. allow me to see how resentment has built up and subsequently blocked off this flow in my life. The Steps provide a way by which my resentments may – by the grace of God as I understand Him – be lifted. It is as a result of this solution that I can find the necessary grace which enables me to forgive myself and others.

From the book Daily Reflections © Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

May 17, 2014 "Defects" Page 143 "We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." Step Six After taking the Fifth Step, many of us spend some time considering "the exact nature of our wrongs" and the part they'd played in making us who we were. What would our lives be like without, say, our arrogance? Sure, arrogance had kept us apart from our fellows, preventing us from enjoying and learning from them. But arrogance had also served us well, propping up our ego in the face of critically low self-esteem. What advantage would be gained if our arrogance were removed, and what support would we be left with? With arrogance gone, we would be one step closer to being restored to our proper place among others. We would become capable of appreciating their company and their wisdom and their challenges as their equals. Our support and guidance would come, if we chose, from the care offered us by our Higher Power; "low self-esteem" would cease to be an issue. One by one, we examined our character defects this way, and found them all defective after all, that's why they're called defects. And were we entirely ready to have God remove all of them? Yes. Just for Today: I will thoroughly consider all my defects of character to discover whether I am ready to have the God of my understanding remove them. Copyright (c) 2013,  NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved