One Day at a Time in Al-Anon:
Sometimes it happens that a member at a meeting “talks good Al- Anon” but those who know her well are aware that it is only skin- deep. She professes compassion for the alcoholic, but all the softness goes out the window when she is crossed or disappointed or annoyed. The real, untamed faults come through, and she hardly even realizes it herself.
When we make only superficial changes in ourselves, and give only ardent lip-service to the program, our progress is slow and our relapses many. The regeneration must be a true spiritual rebirth. It must go very deep, with each character flaw replaced by a new and good quality.
Today’s Reminder:
I must be completely honest with myself in uncovering the faults which hamper my spiritual growth. One by one, watchfully and painstakingly, I will replace them with constructive attitudes.
“Men imagine they communicate their virtue… only by overt actions and words. They do not see that virtue or its opposite emits a breath at every moment.”
— Emerson, Essay on Self-Reliance, paraphrased