Defects of Character

[MajestyJo]

"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak…" (James 1:19, NIV)

The slogan Hesitate and Meditate helped me. Stop and think before you speak. I often walk away, think about something, process it, and then share on it.

One time I lost it in the AA office when they said that the Women's Discussion group couldn't be a part of Inter-group and I had to return my papers. I returned my papers, after responding to a poor guy who was on telephone answering service who just said good morning. He was not the person I was angry at but he got the brunt of the outburst. I later thought, just think of what I would have said if I hadn't said the Serenity Prayer for the three blocks it took me to get there.

I made an amend to the person later. And the man who made the statement, came to the group and made an amend.

That was when I was about 3 years sober. Seldom do I think and say it these day. It is generally an accumulation of things that cause me to react.

I do myself and the others an injustice when I am not kind. Quite often it is the sins of someone else or a compound of issues from my past that affect me in today. It also helps me to remember Hugs not Drugs. Drugs come in many forms. Anything that stands between me and who my God would have me be in today.