Alcoholics Anonymous | July 17 | DonInLondon | Step 7 "Courage To Change"
Channel: Don DonInLondon
Date: 2011-07-17

2014 Full Daily Blog Link: http://donoddylondon.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/alcoholics-anonymous-blog-video-july-17.html July 17 2012 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 7 Courage To Change Alcoholics Anonymous Today's AA daily reflection: "surrender and self-examination..." Surrender and progress, towards equality in relationships, no longer trying to dominate or please others. And some relationships may have been about trying to please some people, and dominate others. Through self-examination and feedback from others we can learn who we tried to control and who we tried to please...

By the time we get to recovery, or in my case by the time I got recovery, I realised that I could be a people pleaser, which is one form of controlling behaviour by trying to be likeable and lovable. And in other relationships I learned that in order to fit in I had to be controlling and directing, and if I were to really fit in I had to be a bully, just like them...! The bullying bit, now that gave me a nervous breakdown of monumental proportions. And I'm glad it did...

A wonderful learning process, these twelve steps. We learn all the things we probably preferred not know about why we drank and what we found unbearable in ourselves and other people. Usually lack of truth, not able to love very well and not very knowledgeable about life. Because some of the pain of learning had become so great or the prospect so difficult, using alcohol or anything to fix rather than prevail by learn our emotions was preferred by others and ourselves...

Entitled and deserving? Life is not fair, relationships are not fair when we cannot be truthful, make compromises in order to get what we want without being truthful to those around us. And similarly when people are unable to be truthful with us, the outcomes are difficult. More often our relationships work out to be profoundly better when we ask each other what our needs and wants are, and tried to be as truthful as we can. Progress never perfect, but soonest and honestly said, will lead to better outcomes and progress. I am not an idealist, at the same time we can listen to others and others can listen to us, there's a better chance of understanding at least...

Yesterday, playing with the settings on my Facebook page, I was updating my quotes and my relationship status. Sometimes I wonder what my relationship status is which is relevant. Truth is I do love people and people love me, at the same time I am not married and wonder if that is a deficit or an asset. Is it okay to be me defined as me and not defined as something else? Just for today, I think so and at the same time I need not be defined by anything else or anyone else. The partnerships I have around me are loving and beautiful, needs met presently in all that matters in the moment and just for today... In love with life means we are in love with those around us who are lovable. And at the same time acceptance there are plenty unlovable ones in the world today...

Sometimes the government of the day in this country can drive me to very unhelpful feelings of anger and dismay. Incompetence without learning, arrogance based on ignorance, ineptitude based on denial and telling lies day after day. Prejudice and fault finding, labelling millions as shirkers rather than strivers for political gain. Stoking the fires of racial prejudice and splitting communities apart rather than building them. I have words to describe our current government usually reserved and said best face-to-face...

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

Email | don@doninlondon.com
Music | "music for airports" By Brian Eno | http://www.enoshop.co.uk/ |