Humility

Hello! My name is Sheila and I am a compulsive overeater. It’s time to pull out the OA workbook and do some Step 7 work.

What is humility? Funny. Last night I read somewhere on the Internet that there is a difference between humility and humiliation. I already made my distinction. Understood. So, what is humility?

I guess more than anything, I understand what humility is not. Humility is the opposite of arrogance. It is someone who has her pride and ego in check.

I looked up the definition to get some clarity. According to Dictionary.com, humility is the quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one's own importance, rank, etc. One of the synonyms is submissiveness.

I remember a guy at a meeting saying humility was the posture of prayer. I didn’t understand what he meant at the time but now I think I do.
Humility is all about asking for God’s guidance because I understand I cannot do things on my own. It is knowing that I power greater than myself can help me and asking for that help.

This continues to be something I struggle with because I am full of self-will, pride, and arrogance. I also admit that there is still a part of me that holds onto these character defects because I stubbornly think they work for me. What I am realizing is that any of my character defects can be assets, can be of service when in alignment with God’s will.

For instance, my therapist pointed out how my pride can be an asset to help me work on myself. My stubbornness is definitely helping me recover because I refused to give up. However, I know it is humility that reminds me that I am not doing this alone. I am only where I am today in my abstinence through the help of my H.P., my sponsor, and my OA family.
My constant prayer is Thy will, not my will, be done.