Blog entry for:

everyone equally by putting aside my judgements, biases and prejudices, is what i think of when asked to place principles before personalities. this topic is quite amusing and ironic because prior to coming clean, i was an equal opportunity hater. everyone was ignorant, and no one was worthy of my time or resources, UNLESS they had something i needed. i was a superior breed of human and was quite fond of letting everyone know. recovery, removed that notion from my head, not at first, but eventually and i had to get down to the work of examining who i was, and what i REALLY thought of others and how i interacted with them.
it was not that all of a sudden i was this loving kind, open and generous person, who instantly saw that his internal opinions were interfering with his relationships with those he needed the most, HA, that would have been a dream come true. no slowly over time, i came to a place where what i thought of someone, became less important that giving the courtesy and respect any human being deserves. it is true, that i interact with them, that respect can quickly diminish and i can see whether or not, it is me, that is the issue, through the lens of my 10TH step. there is certainly more than one person in my life, that makes my skin crawl every time they get close to me, and even worse wants to interact with me. it is within me these days, to allow myself to feel what i feel, and still be respectful of the posers, tourists and thieves. the question i ask myself is simply this, am i jealous or envious of what i think they have or do they really deserve the disdain i feel? unfortunately, that seldom happens in “real time,” and i am faced with having to go back and admit where i was wrong, once again. yes that act of humility is the driving force when i gets down to the nitty-gritty.
the l;ist of spiritual principles i COULD be practicing when i find myself in the “hater” mode, is quite extensive, BUT humility and self-respect pop to the top of that stack. thinking of others more, may certainly be part of this notion, BUT thinking of myself less is the driving force, at least for me. that is why self-respect and humility are thew principles i strive to implement when i interact with others, even those who seem incapable of hearing what others are saying or seeing anything outside their limited perception.
today, my goal is to expand my perception, allow at least one person to express an opinion contrary to what i think i know and be okay with putting aside my biases and prejudices, for at least a minute or two. for me, that is living “principles before personalities,” and not just practicing at it.

∞ DT ∞