Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

STEP SIX

possible. But how many men and women speak love with
their lips, and believe what they say, so that they can hide
lust in a dark corner of their minds? And even while stay-
ing within conventional bounds, many people have to ad-
mit that their imaginary sex excursions are apt to be all
dressed up as dreams of romance.

Self-righteous anger also can be very enjoyable. In a
perverse way we can actually take satisfaction from the
fact that many people annoy us, for it brings a comfortable
feeling of superiority. 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 righ-
teousness.

When gluttony is less than ruinous, we have a milder
word for that, too; we call it "taking our comfort." We live
in a world riddled with envy. To a greater or less degree, ev-
erybody is infected with it. From this defect we must surely
get a warped yet definite satisfaction. Else why would we
consume such great amounts of time wishing for what we
have not, rather than working for it, or angrily looking for
attributes we shall never have, instead of adjusting to the
fact, and accepting it? And how often we work hard with
no better motive than to be secure and slothful later on—
only we call that "retiring." Consider, too, our talents for
procrastination, which is really sloth in five syllables. Near-
ly anyone could submit a good list of such defects as these,
and few of us would seriously think of giving them up, at
least until they cause us excessive misery.

Some people, of course, may conclude that they are in-