One man once said, when questioned about what he would do if he attained wisdom, that he guessed he would be wise enough to know what to do with it. Leads me to ask, who is so wise?
In the Serenity Prayer we ask for the wisdom…but only to know the difference between what we can do and what we can’t. In other words what falls into God’s hands and what is it I’m capable of doing. To me that relates directly to the 6th and 7th Steps. I know that I sometimes do not act wisely in some situations.
A few minutes ago I was confronted with a situation, but something stopped me from saying anything. I walked past it and didn’t say anything.
Was that wisdom or just self protection?
Today we were talking about being powerless and the solution; relying on a Higher Power. I talked to the man, who brought it up, after the meeting. I could see his stuggle on his face and in his eyes. I knew he was struggling with his pride. What would people think? He would be seen as being weak.
I know this, because it was my struggle, too. But, when the pain of drinking got to be too much, I no longer cared. I just needed help and I got it. I then wised up. I surrendered.
My sponsor was wiser than me. He heaped his wisdom on me. He shattered my ego and resistance and I surrendered and accepted. It was the beginning of some modicum of wisdom. I now recognize that in order to have wisdom I have to have humility. I have to know that it’s a very great thing to be little. Someday I hope that this thought will penetrate this thick skull of mine, get past that all encompassing ego of mine, and then I might just know a little bit about what the Serenity Prayer is trying to tell me.
Anyway, I was thinking about this today, especially when the woman in front of me told the group how, after years of not drinking and trying to do things her way, she picked up a drink again. I hope through God’s grace I will be wise enough not to do the same thing.
Can I control my anger? The BB tells me that I am powerless over my anger. But I do know that I can keep my mouth shut and my hands to myself. The rest is up to my Higher Power, if I’m wise enough to ask for the help I need. Knowing that, does that make me wise?