If we are not tracking our expenses, income and savings to the penny, and yet want what other members have received from working the D.A. program, we’ll need to first get honest with ourselves.

“I feel so inadequate tracking my numbers. I was never any good at math!”

“I really have to get better at that. Maybe one day…”

“I don’t have time to do the numbers.”

“I’m just not willing to hold up a line at the store while I fill in my numbers.”

“I hold on to every receipt, but I never catch up. I usually lose my receipts before I have a chance to track them.”

“I guess I’m not desperate enough.”

If we listen to ourselves closely and reflect on what our inner voice is saying, we can usually hear the character defect that is stopping our growth.  Once we identify which defects are at play – pride, fear, anger, lust, envy, sloth, greed, or gluttony – we can decide what actions will help us turn in the opposite direction: humility, courage, prudence, tolerance, willingness, sharing and balance.

Am I willing to face my unwillingness?

Meditation for Today:

Science tells us that the universe is built on mathematical formulas. All of physics illustrates this. Numbers are powerful tools we can learn to appreciate, especially as we see trends of recovery and a release from the darkness of despair, the despair that brought us into the rooms of DA in the first place.

Affirmation for Today:

Starting today I will practice humility by putting a pencil in my hand, or downloading an app on my phone.  Whatever it takes, I will find my truth in my numbers.

Prayer for Today:

Grant me  humility to accept money as currency only, neither good nor bad of itself. Give me courage to put aside my pride, accept that doing my numbers is vital medicine for me to get better. Teach me to know when I am kidding myself.

For Further Reading:

DA Tool Eight encourages us to read AA literature.  A great place to start is with the AA Big Book “Alcoholics Anonymous”.  It explains the Twelve Steps like no other book, is filled with dozens of hopeful stories of recovery.

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