Thought for today:

A member shares:

“I used to feel victimized all my life.  I grew up in an alcoholic home after all.  My parents went through a bankruptcy that made his drinking worse.  We had no money for luxuries like other kids.  It was a real mess.

“In adulthood, my feelings continued to be hurt in most relationships that involved money.  Any time a manager asked me to work on something, my knee-jerk reaction was to feel slighted.  Every business dealing was a win-lose proposition.

“Everything was centered on whether I was being cheated, losing money, losing the ‘game of life’, the esteem of my fellow employees, friends, relatives.  In other words, everyone was out to get me!

“Then I came across the Twelve and Twelve.  Reading it, I came to understand I was basically self-centered, and my feelings were easily hurt.

“I didn’t like to admit it, but I can become very comfortable in the role of victim.  I get frozen in an attitude of despair and wallowing self-pity.  It’s counterproductive to earning a living.

“Sometimes I truly am being victimized, and even in those cases I can pray for the person involved.  The point is, I don’t have to be paralyzed.”

The “spiritual axiom” outlined in the 10th step of AA’s “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions” confronts us in an important way:

“It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us. If somebody hurts us and we are sore, we are in the wrong also.” (from  Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions*)

Am I willing to look at how I participate in my own bitterness?

Meditation for today:

When we think of someone who has hurt us, we can invite our Higher Power into the relationship. We can ask for the favor of being able to forgive.

We don’t seek to forget, but to transform and use these “inspiration points” to improve our lives, and to help others who are going through similar situations.

Affirmation for today:

I will receive, accept and affirm extraordinary healing in all my relationships today.

Prayer for today:

I pray for the willingness to pray for other person’s well being, even if they have harmed me.  In doing this, I am setting us both free from resentment and despair.  I heal myself, and I help improve the world a little.

* Recommended Reading:

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions  is the classic book used by AA members and groups around the world. It lays out the principles by which AA members recover and by which the fellowship functions. The basic text clarifies the Steps which constitute the AA way of life and the Traditions, by which AA maintains its unity.

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