BY OPENING UP -
"We begin to ex-
perience an aware-
ness and an empathy
with other people that was
not possible before working
this step." "As we seek our
personal contact with
God [or our H.P.]*, we
begin to open up as
a flower in the
sun." (The
Basic Text,
p. 47)
AND BEING THE FLOWER; NOT THE SUN -
"If we really depended upon God [or our H.P.]*, we couldn't very well play God to our fellows nor would we feel the urge wholly to rely on human protection and care. These were the new attitudes that finally brought many of us an inner strength and peace ... ." (12 & 12, p. 116)
"It is very
lonely some-
times, trying to
play God."
- Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809 - 1894) U.S., physician, poet, lecturer and author

*HP - Higher Power - is any power greater than oneself. Like Nature, the Cosmos, or even the legal system.