Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024
Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
Let's place principles above personalities
We don't like everyone. Even the people we place on pedestals don't like everyone. But whom we like or dislike matters less than our reaction to those feelings. A Twelve Step meeting is a gathering place for men and women who are similar to the individuals we know from work or other activities. Some of them we identify with immediately. A few are cynical or perhaps bossy; some are self-effacing. Some try to manipulate the group as they used to manipulate the alcoholic or addict. The program is a "classroom" that offers an opportunity to practice principles we are learning.
Can we get beyond a person's actions and give love unconditionally, as we hope to be loved? Can we accept that we can't change a group member? Can we learn to acknowledge that everyone has a perspective that has value and deserves respect? If we make progress in any of these assignments, we will enhance our relationships outside the group too. And that’s what it's all about.
I don’t have to like someone to show him or her the respect that every child of God deserves. The more quickly I realize this and put it into practice, the better my life will unfold.
Hazelden Foundation
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