Humility and Step Seven

Over the last few years in CoDA I have contemplated the word humility and wondered what it means and how it might help me find some relief from my character defects.  Step Seven reads, “Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.” In the first six steps I am building my relationship with a power greater than myself, so I can grow and change and have a spiritual awakening that will improve my ability to have healthy and loving relationships. My shortcomings, my codependent patterns, keep me from God and emotional sobriety. 
Therefore, it is clear to me that having some humility is a basic requirement for finding growth in CoDA. 

What is my concept of humility? Teachability; openness to new ideas; not just open to listening to them but open to taking action on them. A sense that my ideas are possibly flawed. A sense that my view of the world, my assumptions, might be false, or at least partly false. The willingness to listen to others’ advice and take action on it. The willingness to give others the benefit of the doubt.

It's a state of mind which is available to me only through the grace of God; my willingness to reach out and remain willing to change is the key. It's an openness to new ideas and a positive attitude which intuitively guides me toward acceptance, forgiveness, tolerance, love, self-discipline, kindness, toughness and courage. It tells me that I'm a unique, special child of God but that I'm not terminally unique. 

I may be one of God's kids, but God has billions of other kids. It helps me cooperate. It helps me channel my outrage, fear, resentment, rebelliousness, and perpetual victimhood into power, connection, and love for fellow human beings. In short, humility is the key spiritual mechanism or attitude with which I can approach God and actually have some hope that he/she/it may even change me for the better.

Anonymous 
08.03.2025