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Old 02-22-2008, 10:40 PM   #6 (permalink)
DesertEyes
Starting over
 
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Starting over all over again
Posts: 3,112
Hey there Growing

I _love_ doing fourth steps; I feel _so_ much better afterward it's amazing.

One of my sponsors taught me that I do _not_ have character "defects". What I have is character _traits_. It's how I choose to _use_ those traits that turns them into defects or virtues.

I have a lot of empathy for people; that is a "trait". If I use that empathy to drive me to worry, to try and control people so they don't make mistakes they could learn from, it's become "controlling". That is a defect. If I take that empathy to make me a good friend that listens to people in pain and help those who can't do something for themselves then it's "compassion", and a virtue.

A fourth step is not about _you_. It's about how you apply yourself to the challenges of life, it's about your behaviors and learned responses.

Am I making sense?

Mike
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Sunsets are not endings. If I have enough faith, they are beginnings.
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