Understanding humility
“Humility is a result of getting honest with ourselves.”
Basic Text p. 35
Humility was an idea so foreign to most of us that we ignored it as long as we could.
When we first saw the word “humbly” ahead in Step Seven, we may have figured it
meant we had quite a bit of humiliation in store. Perhaps we chose to look it up in
the dictionary, only to become even more confused by the definition. We didn’t
understand how “lowliness and subservience” applied to recovery.
To be humble does not mean we are the lowest form of life. On the contrary,
becoming humble means we attain a realistic view of ourselves and where we fit in
the world. We grow into a state of awareness founded on our acceptance of all
aspects of ourselves. We neither deny our good qualities nor overemphasize our
defects. We honestly accept who we are.
No one of us will ever attain a state of perfect humility. But we can certainly strive to
honestly admit our faults, accept our assets, and rely on our Higher Power as a
source of strength. Humility doesn’t mean we have to crawl life’s path on our hands
and knees; it just means we must admit we cannot recover on our own. We need
each other and, above all, we need the power of a loving God.
Just for today: To be humble, I will honestly accept all facets of myself, seeing my
true place in the world. For the strength I need to fill that place, I will rely on the
God of my understanding.