MY CHECKLIST, NOT YOURS

Daily Reflections - OCTOBER 15

Gossip barbed with our anger, a polite form of murder by character  assassination,  has  its  satisfactions  for  us,  too. Here we are not trying to help those we criticize; we are trying to proclaim our own righteousness.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 67

Sometimes  I don't  realize  that  I gossiped about someone until the end of the day, when I take an inventory of the day's  activities,  and  then,  my  gossiping  appears  like  a blemish in my beautiful day. How could I have said something like that? Gossip shows its ugly head during a coffee break or lunch with business associates, or I may gossip during the evening, when I'm tired from the day's activities, and feel justified in bolstering my ego at the expense of someone else.
Character defects like gossip sneak into my life when I am not making a constant effort to work the Twelve Steps of recovery. I need to remind myself that my uniqueness is the blessing of my being, and that applies equally to everyone who crosses my path in life's journey. Today the only inventory I need to take is my own. I'll leave judgment of others to the Final Judge—Divine Providence.