We are each so much more than what some reduce to measuring. --Karen Kaiser Clark
Our society places great emphasis on how well each person is doing. It makes us judgmental and competitive. As children we may have thought that our real value was measured by the grades we got in school or the scores of our baseball games. As grown-ups we continue measuring our worth by things like the size of our wages, the model of the car we drive, or even how many months or years we have in recovery.
We can't stop the measuring, but we are in a program that helps us step outside this system. We seek to know and do the will of our Higher Power, which is beyond the limitations of such measurements. Submitting our own will to our Higher Power releases us from the competition and the judgments in these games of measurement. Our loyalties are to values like honesty, respect, peace, and wholeness.
Today, I will remember that my value isn't measured on a man-made scale.
pjb235 said
Jan 19, 2005
Thx Phil, I needed to hear that. For the past year or so, I've been on disability due to my depression & can only teach on a part-time volunteer basis. And lately, I've been really beating myself up cuz I haven't "healed" yet & am still not working - shame on me. My depression, like my alcoholism is an illness not a morally defective condition. My Higher Power has guided & carried me safely through so many obstacles in the past year & what I've "lost", I've made up ten-fold but for His grace & the fellowship. I attended a real nice out of town meeting today, good people, small group & what I shared was something straight from the heart which I've shared at my local AA meetings many times & I didn't give it a second thought. There was a member who shared after me who thanked me so much for my share because I really hit home with him & he was very grateful. Mentally sitting through a new meeting was tough for me but for the grace of God, I was able to (in a small way) help another alcoholic and for that I am so grateful. That certainly calmed any fears I had left about being there. God touched each of us in His own special way - that's the miracle of the AA fellowship.! Thx for letting me share. - Pat B
Our society places great emphasis on how well each person is doing. It makes us judgmental and competitive. As children we may have thought that our real value was measured by the grades we got in school or the scores of our baseball games. As grown-ups we continue measuring our worth by things like the size of our wages, the model of the car we drive, or even how many months or years we have in recovery.
We can't stop the measuring, but we are in a program that helps us step outside this system. We seek to know and do the will of our Higher Power, which is beyond the limitations of such measurements. Submitting our own will to our Higher Power releases us from the competition and the judgments in these games of measurement. Our loyalties are to values like honesty, respect, peace, and wholeness.
Today, I will remember that my value isn't measured on a man-made scale.
Thx Phil, I needed to hear that. For the past year or so, I've been on disability due to my depression & can only teach on a part-time volunteer basis. And lately, I've been really beating myself up cuz I haven't "healed" yet & am still not working - shame on me. My depression, like my alcoholism is an illness not a morally defective condition. My Higher Power has guided & carried me safely through so many obstacles in the past year & what I've "lost", I've made up ten-fold but for His grace & the fellowship. I attended a real nice out of town meeting today, good people, small group & what I shared was something straight from the heart which I've shared at my local AA meetings many times & I didn't give it a second thought. There was a member who shared after me who thanked me so much for my share because I really hit home with him & he was very grateful. Mentally sitting through a new meeting was tough for me but for the grace of God, I was able to (in a small way) help another alcoholic and for that I am so grateful. That certainly calmed any fears I had left about being there. God touched each of us in His own special way - that's the miracle of the AA fellowship.! Thx for letting me share. - Pat B