When we do something
that falls below our best behavior, we give power to our worst enemy and each
time we overcome irritation and self pity, we draw near our best friend. Our
worst enemy, the Cherokee calls adagagi, and our best friend, unalii are one. They
live in us and everywhere we go, they go. They speak to us, act through us, and
vie for our attention. One is stronger than the other at times. But it is our
decision which will rule and which one we nurture, because we are the life and
the strength of each one. Our lives, our health, and our prosperity are all
evidence of what we let rule us.
J.S.
Hifler Cherokee
So
our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of
ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot,
though he usually doesn't think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid
of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us! God makes that possible. And
there often seems no way of entirely getting rid of self without His aid. Many
of us had moral and philosophical convictions galore, but we could not live up
to them even though we would have liked to. Neither could we reduce our
self-centeredness much by wishing or trying on our own power. We had to have
God's help.
Big
Book pg. 62
Yet
we had been seeing another kind of flight, a spiritual liberation from this
world, people who rose above their problems. They said God made these things
possible, and we only smiled. We had seen spiritual release, but we liked to
tell ourselves it wasn't true.
Actually
we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the
fundamental idea of God.
Big
Book pg. 55
Grandfather help
me to understand both my sides, help me to nurture the good wolf.