By Jamie Moon

When discussing our responsibility for our feelings I neglected to mention the so-called spiritual axiom relayed in the book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. Where is says, “Every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us.” The reason I bring it up here is because it is usually when we feel we were “made” to feel this, that or the other thing that we feel justified in whatever actions we have.

For example someone says something stupid to us like, “You’re an idiot.” We then get angry and punch them. Some would call this justifiable. However, even the law would call this “aggravated assault.” You would still be jailed for the assault. The person that called you an idiot would still be free. We are responsible for our actions, which are often re-actions. How about our in-actions? We often blame many outside forces such as being too busy to practice our Program. Or one of my favourite (around the Program) “This is, a Program of a Bridge to normal living.” This statement is often used as an excuse for discontinuing the very Program practices that brought us any kind of “normal living.”

Cutting out meetings, (where once we have been around for any length of time we understand that meetings are a place we give back the Program) thinking we don’t need to go because we are feeling fine. The Big Book often speaks of the dangers of “resting on our laurels.” Just exactly what does that mean? It means resting on yesterdays Program practices, expecting them to carry us through today.

“I’m too tired to go to a meeting.” This is a statement that I’ve found to be untrue because meetings and giving of my time to give back is not tiring. It is only tiring when I get my ego involved and when I think I know something that must be conveyed. If we pray and trust that a Higher Power will give us the right things to say, it is not tiring.

Taking in-action outside of the rooms I had a great lesson about parking fines. I almost always received tickets when I simply did not read the signs posted. When I skimmed over what was written I often misread the signs. And isn’t that true in many areas of our lives. We misread the signs out of not being conscious of what is going on around us.

So, we are responsible for our actions, re-actions, and in-actions.