Tag: humility

Posted in Sharing

The Road to Humility

Posted on by Early Sobriety Group

The word ego is actually the Latin word for I
That makes a lot of sense when you decide to wonder why
Our ego makes us do things that we may come to regret
Like boasting of our exploits when we use the internet

When kept under control it’s very healthy to posses
It’s what makes us unique, it helps our talents to progress
A measure of self-confidence we need to venture out
When starting a new venture where success may be in doubt

But once out of control, the ego takes another path
It leads us to become someone who soon will feel its wrath
It cons us into thinking we are always in the right
When challenged we lash out and become ready for a fight

When told we’re drinking way too much, we say it isn’t true
We say “you are mistaken and you haven’t got a clue “
Our egotells us they are wrong, we’re strong enough to quit
We just don’t want to at this time, we’ll slow down just a bit

But slowing down don’t seem to work, in fact it’s gotten worse
We start to hide it from our friends, and then we start to curse
Those people passing judgement, make us start to feel ashamed
It’s then we finally realize that our ego is to blame

To us the word humility is not our egos friend
It tears apart what we’ve believed, it wants us to pretend
That all is well, ignore the fact that we’ve lost all control
Until we hear that desperation bell begin to toll

For some of us we had to lose the things we held most dear
The spouse, the job, the car we wrecked, our life consumed with fear
Yet other still have reached this point without those other things
We’ve hit a bottom, none the less, the misery it brings

It’s called humiliation, so ashamed what we’ve become
Inside we feel no different than the lowly sidewalk bum
It’s at those final moments that the ego must be smashed
If we will have a chance to live, before all hope is dashed

For most of us humility was not an easy task
Potholes filled the road we took, we stumbled to get past
Our ego keeps us off that road till we admit defeat
Put it aside and ask for help, acknowledge we’ve been beat

Humility’s a virtue, humiliation a disease
One brings us back our self-respect, the other to our knees
Us alcoholics need to go through one to reach the other
The road to reach humility and help us to recover

Larry R.

Posted in Sharing

The Road to Humility

Posted on by Early Sobriety Group

The word ego is actually the Latin word for “I”
That makes a lot of sense when you decide to wonder why
Our ego makes us do things that we may come to regret
Like boasting of our exploits when we use the internet

When kept under control it’s very healthy to posses
It’s what makes us unique, it helps our talents to progress
A measure of self-confidence we need to venture out
When starting a new venture where success may be in doubt

But once out of control, the ego takes another path
It leads us to become someone who soon will feel its wrath
It cons us into thinking we are always in the right
When challenged we lash out and become ready for a fight

When told we’re drinking way too much, we say it isn’t true
We say “you are mistaken and you haven’t got a clue “
Our ego tells us they are wrong, we’re strong enough to quit
We just don’t want to at this time, we’ll slow down just a bit

But slowing down don’t seem to work, in fact it’s gotten worse
We start to hide it from our friends, and then we start to curse
Those people passing judgement, make us start to feel ashamed
It’s then we finally realize that our ego is to blame

To us the word humility is not our egos friend
It tears apart what we’ve believed, it wants us to pretend
That all is well, ignore the fact that we’ve lost all control
Until we hear that desperation bell begin to toll

For some of us we had to lose the things we held most dear
The spouse, the job, the car we wrecked, our life consumed with fear
Yet other still have reached this point without those other things
We’ve hit a bottom, none the less, the misery it brings

It’s called humiliation, so ashamed what we’ve become
Inside we feel no different than the lowly sidewalk bum
It’s at those final moments that the ego must be smashed
If we will have a chance to live, before all hope is dashed

For most of us humility was not an easy task
Potholes filled the road we took, we stumbled to get past
Our ego keeps us off that road till we admit defeat
Put it aside and ask for help, acknowledge we’ve been beat

Humility’s a virtue, humiliation a disease
One brings us back our self-respect, the other to our knees
Us alcoholics need to go through one to reach the other
The road to reach humility and help us to recover

Larry R.

Posted in Sharing

What Humility Means To Me

Posted on by Early Sobriety Group

In the opening paragraphs of the chapter devoted to step seven in The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Bill Wilson emphatically states, “the attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of each of AA’s twelve steps.” The legendary alcoholic goes on to claim that, “…without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all.”  This can be a daunting task in modern day culture, where humility is often associated with weakness, or an almost passive mode of existence.  Society puts so much emphasis on external accomplishments, appearance, and arrogance that even a small display of humility can make one feel like a drowning man coming up for air.  Like many alcoholics, I struggled to define this quiet virtue.  How can I begin to live by these principles if I can’t interpret them myself?  At the suggestion of Bill W. and my sponsor, I set out to find my own meaning.

All too often, alcoholics set out to seek humility by thinking less about themselves when in reality they should be thinking about themselves less.  By following these guidelines, I have determined that humility means that you are secure enough not to need to be reassured by others.  It means that you don’t feel you have to prove yourself by showing that you are more cleaver, smarter, more gifted or more successful than others.  You are secure because you live in God’s love. For he has faith in you even if you do not.  You do not need to compare yourself to others.  You have your task, they have theirs, and that leads you to co-operate, not compete.

This means you can see other people and value them for what they are.  They are not just a series of mirrors at which you look only to see your own reflection.  Secure in yourself, you can see value in others.  Confident in your identity, you can value the people not like you.  Humility is the self turned outward. It is the understanding that it is not about you.

If you set yourself on human approval, you’re controlled by the people you want to please.  I was a walking example of this and this is why I drank.  You become overly concerned with what people think of you and begin to shape your behavior around gaining their approval.  The result is that you lose your sense of who you really are and you start compromising your principles.

So I challenge you, free yourself of the stronghold of society and find your own definition of humility.  Let’s walk this road together!

Stephan B.