Dimittere , Divinum | 、神の許し | To Forgive, Divine

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     He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has needed to be forgiven.

--Thomas Fuller

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         Where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness...

--Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (21)

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     If we are sorry for what we have done, and have the honest desire to let God take us to better things, we believe we will be forgiven and will have learned our lesson. If we are not sorry, and our conduct continues to harm others, we are quite sure to drink. We are not theorizing. These are facts out of our experience.

--Alcoholics Anonymous (70:2)

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     18-Aug-15:  Happy Monday Tuesday everyone!  My friend Mike G. suggested 'Forgiveness' for today's reflection...

     To be perfectly honest, Forgiveness is not something I have thought very much about over the long haul of my sobriety.  Not so much because it wasn’t necessary for me to forgive, mind you.  God knows I suffer(ed) from resentment, guilt shame and remorse as much as any alcoholic.  To be quite frank, forgiveness is not the specific goal of any specify step, it is a by-product of the rapid and thorough application of steps 4-9.  In my view searching for forgives in sobriety, of either ourselves or others, is about as pointless as searching for happiness.  It just does not work.

     Well, then, what does, you ask?  GLAD you asked :-)  As far as happiness goes, I’ve learned that it is a byproduct of right living, of making morally right choices.  Washington said it best:  ‘Happiness & one’s moral duty are inseparable’.  Fixing the three basic human relationships fixes ALL emotional defects – not the least of which is resentment (what we are really talking about when we speak of ‘forgiveness.  

     These basic relationships are:  1. Myself (Steps 1, 4/5 & 10)  This is the most important, which it why it goes first.  If my mind isn’t right, nothing is right. 2. God (Steps 2, 6/7 & 11).  Now that the relationship w/me is right, which is to say I have an undeluded view of myself as the world actually sees me, my mind is clear enough to go God for the Power, which I will need to get right with his kids.  God always says yes to this question by the way :-) 3.Others. (Steps 3, 8/9, 12):  Once I begin to make amends, I begin to see the folks I make amends to as humans, equal to me in every way, truly brothers and sisters are they to me, by this time.  This is how it all works.  Resentment & anger melt like snow in June.  By the time we finish step 9, all negative emotion are completely ripped out of our once-black hearts.

     What a wonderful life we have in AA

     I love you all.  Thank you for my life.

     Yours in love and service,

--COG, 1^st Class.

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Vitam Mors | デイリー臨死を通じ生活 | Daily Living Through Daily Dying

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     Phoe·nix ˈfēniks/ noun (in classical mythology):  a fabulours bird that...burn(s)  itself on a funeral pyre to rise from the ashes with renewed youth to live through another cycle.

--Websters Dictionary
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     Keep ever in mind the admission that you made on the day of your profession into A.A., namely that you are powerless and that it was only with your willingness to turn your life and will into My keeping, that relief came to you.

--Why We Were Chosen; Judge John T., 1943
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     Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn out to be firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful lives may be built.

--Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (21)
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     What seemed at first a flimsy reed, has proved to the the loving and powerful hand of God.

--Alcholics Anonymous (28:1)
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     17-Aug-15:  Happy Monday everyone! A friend suggested 'Let Go & Let God' as a topic for today, which is really about surrender I think.  

     A newcomer asked me question that really threw me.  Not to be arrogant but this does not happen often, for this program keeps getting simpler for me, so naturally the answers are always there if 'I have something to transmit' - living in the disciplines of steps 10, 11 and 12.  However, this particular question set me thinking, and thinking hard.  The question was a great one I think, perhaps the best ever asked in an AA meeting, which was: 'How do you get somebody to surrender', which is really another way of saying 'how does one cause another to "let go and let God".  The more I pondered this, the clearer the answer became, which is:  

     You can't.  One is either beaten to a pulp, or they are not.  There is no middle ground behind the two.

     Recently I was at a meeting where somebody was making the argument that 'we have to present this program at the level of the person we are trying to reach'.  Sounds good, feels right, we all want to helpful, who wants to see anyone suffer needlessly, right?

   Wrong.  In my experience any parts of this program I dumb down to make it palatable for someone who hasn't surrendered 1)  Just waters down the message for those who are in fact ready to recover, 2) Makes me a hypocrite and a liar, for the only real message of AA is 'that God could and would if he were sought, and 3)  is a complete and utter waste of my time - and theirs.  If a man hasn't 'let go absolutely', they can as my sponsor used to say attend one thousand meetings a day the ghosts of Bill W. & Dr. Bob left and right and the still would not 'get it'.  Why is this?  Becuase until they let go absolutely, they will not be willing to take all the seemingly drastic steps this program requires for it sucessful consummation.

     I love you all.  Thank you for my life.

     Yours in love and service,

-COG, 1st. Class.
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