Why Humility Is a Desirable Way of Life – Kenny D.

About This Speaker Tape

12 Step Retreat - 2006

A bankruptcy filing becomes a lesson in spiritual arrogance when Kenny D. pushes a friend Bob B. to pay back debts that Bob B. simply cannot afford. Kenny D. recounts the grit of Bob B. delivering pizzas at fifty years old just to satisfy a rigid interpretation of amends until Kenny D. realizes that forgiveness is a spiritual law not just a legal one. The narrative shifts to the wreckage of others—Dan D. who lost a limb in a motorcycle accident and became a political lobbyist and Darlene N. a woman who turned her two-bedroom apartment into a 'free bird house' for heroin addicts to kick cold turkey. Through Darlene N.'s death from AIDS-related complications Kenny D. describes the heavy lifting of adopting her son Jake and the slow messy process of bonding through a road trip across the American West.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Kenny D. discusses the convenience of bankruptcy and the later realization of the need for amends.
• 2:15 The story of Bob B. and the struggle of delivering pizzas at age 50 to pay back debts.
• 6:40 Discussion on the spiritual purpose of bankruptcy and the need for flexibility in amends.
• 10:15 Story of Dan D., the motorcycle accident survivor who became a lobbyist and met the President.
• 16:30 Q&A session: Tony asks about the nightly review in Step 11.
• 22:10 Janice discusses the danger of 'bludgeoning' oneself with defects of character during inventory.
• 28:45 Tom discusses the 'higher standard' of morals for those in recovery compared to general society.
• 35:10 Kenny D. describes the 'twice born' and the dramatic transformation of Darlene N.
• 42:20 The 'free bird house': Darlene N.'s apartment as a sanctuary for heroin addicts.
• 48:15 The process of adopting Jake and the road trip to bond as a family.
• 54:30 Laughter: Discussion on the 'noise' in the head and the struggle to find a quiet place.