Daily Reflections reading
December 22nd
Principles Not Personalities
The
way our “worthy” alcoholics have sometimes tried to judge the “less worthy” is,
as we look back on it, rather comical. Imagine, if you can, one alcoholic
judging another! THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 37
Who
am I to judge anyone? When I first entered the Fellowship I found that I liked
everyone. After all, A.A. was going to help me to a better way of life without
alcohol. The reality was that I couldn’t possibly like everyone, nor they me.
As I’ve grown in the Fellowship, I’ve learned to love everyone just from
listening to what they had to say. That person over there, or the one right
here, may be the one God has chosen to give me the message I need for today. I
must always remember to place principles above personalities.
© Alcoholics Anonymous World Services
My
thoughts on December 22nd Reading
Looking at principles before Personalities in all my affairs
is just following the 12 steps, AA opens the doors and offer fellowship to
anyone who has a desire to stop drinking, WE leave that determination up to the
individuals, those who attend our meetings
They either feel a sense of “belonging” or they do not and
move on, we are responsible for the feeling of acceptance from members who
practice the Third Tradition by tolerating and accepting everyone, it is what
makes us all feel the acceptance of God’s love
We need to tolerate all the differences between each and
every one of us, we are humans some old timers believe that the fellowship has
been diluted by including those who are dealing with issues other than problems
with alcohol, such as drug abuse
I rarely have see an addict who didn’t have a drinking
problem, also I myself would never turn away a so called addict, if a person
doesn’t belong in AA they weed themselves out, would you belong to an
over-eaters anonymous program, if you were skinny?
AA has given me the tools to help people in life, not just
if they are an alcoholic or addict, but people in all walks of life, I am no
judge to turn anybody away at anytime for any reason, I have met many alcoholic
who substituted drugs to cure their alcoholism
Today I see many addicts substituted alcohol to cure the
drug habit, in both cases all I see is they get addicted to both alcohol and
drug, they need our support I would certainly hope that anyone who wishes to
stop drinking would have the freedom
To choose AA as his or her means of support, AA has learned
through trial and error, I want AA to be here with out fear of being hurt,
whenever someone reaches out for help as it was for me, when I hear these
comments at meetings “you don’t belong I don’t want to here about drugs
I can’t even imagine how hopeless and despairing this could
be if I was that person suffering from
Dual addiction of alcohol and drugs, thinking I was to be
cast out before I could even get to know who or what I was
We are many people with many character defects who normally
would not mix and when we all come into a room for a meeting we carry that baggage
with us, I know when I first came to AA I did not like a lot of what I was
hearing people say
I did not want to hear about God, who I took out of my life
years ago because He was vengeful, they keep trying to convinces me I had to
accept God into my life if I wanted to stay sober, they also told me I can
choose who or what I want to be my GOD its of my understanding
But then I was only hearing the real truth from people who
came to AA before me, it made me have to take a look why I had no control over
my drinking they seem to have, some of us were not the most honest or
trustworthy people when we got into the halls
And really needed to pretend that we , but as time goes own
we learn about the 12 steps, today I find it less and less offensive to hear a
new comer tell me lies and I react differently than I would have if I were
still drinking, today I do not go to every argument I am invited to
I know that when I got here I lied about a lot of things,
just to impress people, what I did not know is I did not need to impress people,
because we all had just one common problem alcoholism and that if I trusted in
a power greater than myself who I call God then it mattered little
Where others in recovery where, what’s important is that
today I do not have to lie, what others think of me today is none of my
business, as long as I am doing right, what is important is what God knows of
me thru my new found hope and attitudes
I try not to hurt another today, God has a plan for us all
and only in His time will that be reveled, if we do not stick to the principles
of recovery then someone will miss the chance to learn the truth about
themselves, who am I to judge another when others did not judge me
When I came into the hall for help, after all AA is not just
designed for me and how I think it should be done in someone else’s life, its
God given, I need to give God a helping, hand by being tolerant of others and
respect their right
To find themselves thru Gods help as I did, AA is for all
who suffer from our disease, lets all remember to place principles before
personalities, we are not judge and jury for anyone, I need to remember where I
came from
Our principles do not tell us to judge others by our own
personal beliefs, this is placing all our Principles before Personalities in
all our endeavors, in Alcoholics Anonymous there’s a wrench to fit every nut,
take it out of your toolbox and use it
I've
learned.... that the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly
person.
Please feel free to mail
suggestions or comments
