Tolerance
“ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.”
Tradition Twelve
Sometimes it’s bard to accept others’ character defects. As we recover together, we
not only listen to others talk in meetings, we also watch how they walk through their
recovery. The more we get to know other members, the more we become aware of
how they live their lives. We may form opinions about how they “work their
program”. We may find that certain members upset us, or we may even hear
ourselves say, “If I worked their program, I would surely use!
We have found tolerance to be a principle that not only strengthens our own
recovery but also our relationships with individuals who are a source of irritation to
us. It becomes easier to accept other members’ frailties when we remember that we
ourselves rarely turn over our own character defects until we become painfully aware
of them.
Just for today: I will strive to accept others as they are. I will try not to judge others.
I will focus on the principles of love and acceptance.