AA – Step 7

Alcoholics Anonymous Step 7 : Humbly Asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

The book Drop the Rock states "Let's fill that big self – centered hole in our being with spiritual usefulness…..we're taught in the Twelve Steps , the chief activator of our defects has been self-centered fear. Mainly fear that we would lose something we already possessed or that we would fail to get something we demanded."

"F.E.A.R = Frustration, Ego,Anxiety and Resentment." Ibid

"The key ingredient in living the Seventh Step is humility…they have got down to their right size…Humility is understanding that they're worthwhile. It's the middle ground between extremes of grandiosity and intense shame. It's being our true selves. Humility for us means staying our right size – and remembering that we are as humble as we are grateful."

"For our definition we will use this idea from Sam Shoemaker: humility = gratitude."

"Humility is our acceptance of ourselves. …There exists within us, at all times, a Higher Power that is the builder of all successes and our comforter during times of trial."

"An aspect of humility that is often talked about at meetings is that of being teachable. If we are humble , we are open to new ideas and new ways of seeing things. Open mindedness is a very important part of humility. We don't know it all. There is still more we can learn. And maybe even more important, some we need to unlearn."

"Yet, how many of us in the Program aren't open to new ideas and thoughts? Especially after having been around for a while, how many do we see who continue to say and do the exact same things year after year? It seems that many of us resist a clear idea of humility so we don't have to conform to it."

"In the process of working the First through the Sixth Steps, I gained an ability to move through my fear and look toward God. I learned to talk honestly and openly in meetings and share my limits and fears with another human in an inventory. With the Seventh….it's suggesting that since I've done the groundwork, now is the time to "humbly" ask to change those things that stand in my way."

"I was used to arrogantly demanding spiritual enlightenment or groveling melodramatically for forgiveness…..Gentleness and patience were new to me."

"Another part of humility is service."

"The message in the Sixth and Seventh Steps produces other centeredness. We by the grace of God care less about ourselves and our fellows. In the words of Joe McQ:"We are born to help others."

"When we pass on recovery, we keep it. The spiritual paradox becomes an all determining reality for us…..Service becomes a way of life."

"If humility, being humble , is valuable to us , then we must learn to model it. Practice humility."

"What other values, spiritual and otherwise, do we hold and how do we demonstrate them? Have we examined closely the meaning and purpose of our lives. The Sixth and Seventh Steps are really asking us "What is important to us?" Here is where we have to get to the basics."

"What is the value in our life? How is our life giving meaning to others? Are we helping? Are we part of the solution or part of the problem? How does it show? How is our Higher Power part of our life and how does it show? What value do we give to spirituality and how does it show?From the answers to these questions comes our ability to share, give, act and practice humility."

Quotations from Drop the Rock, Removing Character Defects, Steps Six and Seven, by Bill P., Todd W. Sara S. Hazelden Books, 2005 p 54 to 64