JFT November 28
 

November 28


Being ourselves

“To be truly humble is to accept and honestly try to be ourselves.”

Basic Text, p. 35

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Humility is a puzzling concept. We know a lot about humiliation, but humility is a new idea. It sounds suspiciously like groveling, bowing, and scraping. But that’s not what humility is at all. True humility is, simply, acceptance of who we are.

By the time we reach a step that uses the word “humbly,” we have already started to put this principle into practice. The Fourth Step gives us an opportunity to examine who we really are, and the Fifth Step helps us accept that knowledge.

The practice of humility involves accepting our true nature, honestly being ourselves. We don’t have to grovel or abase ourselves, nor must we try to appear smarter, wealthier, or happier than we really are. Humility simply means we drop all pretense and live as honestly as we can.

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Just for today: I will allow knowledge of my true nature to guide my actions. Today, I will face the world as myself.

I had little understanding of the true meaning of humility when I came to NA. I thought being humble meant being low down, groveling. I learned that it just means being yourself and accepting yourself. I can do that today. I don't have to be worse or better than anyone else; I can just be me.