“This is a sick man. How can I be helpful to him? God save me from being angry. Thy will be done.’’ (Page 67, Big Book)
(4) Hostility
Hostility is bearing grudges, attempting to overpower others, seeing them as threats or obstacles, and controlling, manipulating, or punishing them for it.
Antidote: Recognise that everyone is doing their best given the rotten set of cards they have been dealt; even the worst are powerless not guilty, trapped in their own error and folly, their own selfishness and negligence, just like me. I should be helping them where possible, not condemning them. I should also blind myself to their ‘defects’, relandscaping them as features, and focus only on their virtues and the spark of God within them. Never criticise, fault-finding, insist that others conform to my wishes, manipulate them to do so, argue, defend, explain, or justify.