We have experienced humility in previous steps. In fact, the humility it takes to admit to powerlessness in the first step is often where we begin to experience humility as a necessity. However, this is only a beginning. To gain a vision of humility as the avenue of true freedom of the spirit takes most of us a long time. After all, a whole life geared toward self-centeredness cannot be overcome all at once. To be truly humble is to accept and honestly try to be ourselves. It is as much a part of remaining clean and sober as water is to staying alive. Ultimately, step seven is our opportunity to willingly try humility in seeking the removal of our other shortcomings, just as we did when we admitted that we were powerless over our addiction.
Since we humbly admitted to our powerlessness in step one, the following steps have served to sow the seeds of humility in our spirits that will begin to grow in this step. Specifically, in the first six steps, we began to learn our part in things. Where we used to believe situations happened to us, we now see how we often created those situations. We stop blaming others for our lot in life and begin to realize that where we have ended up has been determined mostly by the choices we have made. But, humility is a sense of our own humanness. By grasping it properly, we are better able to realize that we and others are truly human and make decisions both good and bad, with the hope that things turn out well.
In previous steps, we also worked to form a relationship with the God of our understanding. In step two, we first began to think about a Higher Power that could help us find recovery. In step three, we made a decision to trust our Higher Power with the care of our will and our lives. In step four, we leaned on our Higher Power to get us through and then shared with our Higher Power the most intimate details of our lives in step five. During step six, we realized that our Higher Power can do more for us than simply help us to remain clean and sober.
That work we did to build our relationship with the God of our understanding in the previous steps will pay off as we proceed with step seven. During this step, we are encouraged to humbly ask the God of our understanding to remove our shortcomings. This involves honest communication with our Higher Power in whatever way we deem acceptable (prayer, for example). During this step, we are also encouraged to take action in the form of inviting our Higher Power to work in our lives. We cannot keep a distant relationship with our Higher Power and expect to experience change through their presence. This action will take the spiritual principles of trust, faith, patience, and of course, humility. Today you can remain patient during the process and incorporate humility into your everyday life. Today you can trust that your Higher Power will work in your life and have faith that you will experience change.
