Facing unpleasant situations and taking action with love is a demonstration of maturity and grace.<\/b><\/p>\n
Living Clean, Chapter 7, \u201cPrinciples, Application, and Perspective\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some of us took conflict avoidance to another level. We didn\u2019t just avoid confrontations\u2014we adopted a general policy that awkward situations were best avoided. We applied this rule to our personal lives, with our families, at work, and in the Brotherhood. Given the opportunity, we avoided any situation that might be awkward. We made excuses and avoided the very experiences that create bonds between people. Feeling uncomfortable with our own awkwardness, we avoided the friend who needed comfort, declined wedding invitations, and changed our attendance at gatherings after an embarrassing outburst.<\/span><\/p>\n When we resisted being present in life, our social awkwardness left us feeling incapable of even the simplest acts of love. In active addiction, we may have convinced ourselves that we didn\u2019t care\u2014not even a little\u2014but our behavior was consistent with that feeling. Despite our best intentions to remain distant, we find that we learn to care as we begin to recover.<\/span><\/p>\n The desire to increase our level of engagement with the world may come suddenly over time, or it may not. Some of us are naturally solitary\u2014it\u2019s just how we\u2019re programmed. Finding comfort in solitude can be a beautiful thing. Isolation is a different matter. When we need help but refuse to pick up the phone, we may have a problem. We learn to recognize when enjoying our own company gives way to isolation and take the necessary actions to stay safe and clean.<\/span><\/p>\n The Steps help us understand who we are and who we are not. Experience is a great teacher, building our confidence in simply being ourselves. Instead of avoiding uncomfortable situations, we walk through them. We enjoy the reward of coming out the other side. When we reflect on our actions, we can see our growth. We let go of our old ways of pretending indifference and find ways to be ourselves in the world. Our willingness to grow and be ourselves in the world shows that we are evolving into a more mature version of ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I will reframe my perspective on my awkward situations and take advantage of opportunities to apply maturity and grace.<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-11860","spad","type-spad","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/spad\/11860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/spad"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/spad"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}