Alcoholics Anonymous | July 16 | DonInLondon | Step 7 "Courage To Change"
Channel: Don DonInLondon
Date: 2011-07-16

July 16 2012 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 7 Courage To Change Alcoholics Anonymous [ Full daily blog link: http://donoddylondon.blogspot.com/ ] Today's AA daily reflection: "humility, the way to a new life..." In my world humility is about openness and willingness to learn how to feel life in the moment of now. Our fellowship is founded on emotional and spiritual well-being. Emotional, learning and understanding all the feelings we have as they happen to really experience the "Zeitgeist." Reality in the moment of now...

Sometimes admission to this new life is described as having a price, an emotional response, and that feeling being pain. Emotional pain rather than physical pain, but as we know emotional pain causes every physical element of us to react and somehow freeze our bodies and contort everything. Emotional pain can be extreme as we learn over and over again all our emotions. As all my emotions began to emerge, the high and low extremes of feeling extended and deepened reality in all my experiences in the moment...

In some cases, or indeed all cases in recovery happiness may begin very quickly and the change in how we can live is understood almost from the moment we stop drinking. The dark gallows humour can have us rolling around in laughter, yet every moment of recollection has a sharp cut into deep wounds and memories. These deep wounding cuts to ourselves and others are reminders for step eight and making a list of amends we feel necessary to make...

And indeed with humility to accept what happened to us with the focus of humility, we start to recognise the self-inflicted pain back in the day. And as we recognise the pain we felt, we start seeing the pain we may have caused others in the past. The thorough and fearless inventory, sharing it, recognising our deficits and our assets leads to a willingness to make a list of amends. A tall order indeed if we do not let go and start learning this new recovery life, humility in all respects is key...

Progress not perfect and knowing that every day something new is likely to happen. Sometimes we have a breakthrough and have clarity beyond any of the experiences we may have had so far. Sometimes a foggy day where nothing makes sense, and a gratitude list may pull us away from our anger and resentments which can pile up very quickly. Asking for help at any time to improve our outlook, share what is going on and get feedback can make an unbearable day bearable. We may find clarity, or we can remain confused as we realise not all problems are solved in the moment of now...

Even though we may have problems, be so confused there is no light at the end of the tunnel, I have found serenity possible even in the most dark times. How so? The answer does lie in the serenity prayer and often I repeat to myself the part which keeps me safe, "can do and cannot do and the wisdom to know the difference" and the wisdom of not knowing in the moment of now is often the best possible place to be as long as I recall that humility works and I can keep on learning just for another day...

DonInLondon [ Full daily blog link: http://donoddylondon.blogspot.com/ ] 
AA Official Online Site: Daily Reflections http://www.aa.org/lang/en/aareflections.cfm
AA Official Online Site: Big Book And Twelve And Twelve http://www.aa.org/lang/en/subpage.cfm?page=359

Step 7 "Step 7  Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings" "The way we have come to look at humility is that it is a virtue, one of the principles that AA teaches us to live. The definition we have adopted pictures us as standing naked before God, without 

pretense nor reservation. It means hiding nothing, being our real selves, both good and bad.  A good synonym for humility is honesty." BB Bunch
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Step 7 "Courage To Change" Reading Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agVuLKhdqk8
July Video Reading Step Seven Into Action Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueS51r5FzH4
July Playlist All About Step Seven: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL00B8ABECADC67C82
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Email | don@doninlondon.com
Music | "music for airports" By Brian Eno | http://www.enoshop.co.uk/ |