One thing that I know is important is my attitude. Or like the old Bing Crosby* song went, “You’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, and don’t mess with Mr. In Between.” Not always what we want to do or choose to do.
A lot of things can affect how our attitudes will go. That’s why the spot check inventory is suggested by Bill W. in the tenth step. It suggests that we can run an inventory on ourselves continuously throughout the day. It’s kind of like taking a our spiritual, mental, and emotional temperature. We can often catch things, which, if we waited until later, might just pull us over into a ditch before we get to it. We get the opportunity to nip something in the bud and, if we have to, to start our day over.
A spot check inventory kind of sets alarms off the minute we hit a bump in the road. Even an unkind thought, though not spoken, can start a negative landslide within us. A minor slight may slowly erode away at us until a full blown resentment takes over. Someone takes our inventory, either fairly or unfairly, and we feel devastated. A rejection, we might otherwise ignore, takes over our whole day. There are an infinite number of things which can attack our defenses and penetrate our inner resources and pull us down. Impatience, aggravation, emotional upsets, even minor irritations can grow into mountains over a short period of time, left unattended.
It’s not easy to turn our attitude around, especially if we feel justified in having an angry negative one. There are a lot of roadblocks once an attitude is settled in. Maybe I don’t want to change my attitude and I think others should change theirs. Sometimes I just don’t want to do anything but stay in the snit I’ve worked myself into. What’s wrong with that?
It’s my choice isn’t it?
The problem with this is that it keeps us from the solution. It forces us into a place where we’re literally cut off from the sunlight of the spirit. Anytime we find ourselves letting our character defects flourish this is what happens to us. Especially, when anger is the underlying emotion. We’ve all seen what the BB says about this very situation. The best way to deal with the question of attitudes is at the beginning of our day and having some sort of check on it throughout our day.
I can get a lot of help with my attitudes, if I reach out and ask someone to give me a hand. The help of the Hand from Above is always there, if I will but ask for it. All this takes is a little humility. Maybe I don’t want to ask for help, but this can prove unwise. A stubborn attitude is a roadblock to spiritual progress and may even prove fatal in the end.
Someone asked me a question and this thought popped up. *Bing Crosby? Ask someone over 50.
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