HUMILITY MONTH: DAY 16: “If my sinfulness appears to me in any way smaller or less detestable in comparison with the sins of others, I am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
It is one of the ugliest aspects of human behavior that we are prone to compare ourselves with others to offset any recrimination or internal sense of wrong-doing when we are behaving badly.
I remember once telling a cop who had pulled me over for speeding, which is how I always drive, that there was a guy in front of me going much faster. ??? Somehow I thought he should get THAT guy and give me a medal???
Justifying our bad performance in the human realm is not how we walk a spiritual path. Nor is it okay for us to constantly say that we are better than we were. So?
Yes, I get it that we are here to learn and will always have human failings and frailties, but that is no excuse for our bad behaviors. Like I only killed one guy…I used to kill 10? Really?
It is very important, for me, that I be really honest with myself about this stuff. It is going to go in the direction of making amends and allowing the Universe to remove those things that stand in the way of my relationship with all of the heavenly realm and the human realm. I want there to be a clear path for me to walk in these realms.
Step Six asks me to become ready for these things to be removed. I am always entirely ready; but then I decide to lie for expediency or out of fear. Uh-oh! The good news is that I am much more aligned with my inner sense of right and wrong, so I feel it pretty quickly. I have had to stop in the middle of a lie and confess it. Why? Because my ability to tell myself that I don’t give a shit any more is gone. It was removed so I cannot practice my character defects so cavalierly as I once did. Uhoh!
I really love this step. It seems innocuous on the face of it, but goes deeply into me walking through the world in the ways that I always wanted to…happy, joyous and free! Today I recognize that there is nothing I have to look over my shoulder about and no one to whom I have to clean up a big mess. I am so grateful for this step!
Dolphin Hug 