Center of the Universe?

Page 63 of the literature says that "selfishness and self-centeredness, we think, is the root of our problems."

I thought of this yesterday while counseling a client who thinks he's the center of the universe. For example, if two people are in a corner talking out of earshot he immediately fears they're talking about him. If he tells a joke and no one laughs he thinks everyone hates him. He doesn't stop to think that maybe it was a bad joke. If no one compliments him on construction work he just completed he's a failure. He lives at the center of a cruel universe. And the reason it's cruel is he thinks it's is all about him.

As we grow in sobriety we come to realize that very little of the world is about us.  We discover we live in a diverse world made up of billions of unique personalities – of which we are only a minor one. When we recognize this we're free. Because all of a sudden we're not taking offense at every perceived slight. We realize that life is a journey, not a moment in time where we're offended by minor slights cooked up in our addicted mind.

We shed some of our self-centeredness by seeing that while we may be good at one thing, we're not good at everything. Each of us has strengths and weaknesses. For example, I may be a competent businessman but I'm not so good at dealing with people. The next person may be really wonderful at dealing with people but may not understand the ins and outs of business. One may be a better technician than his immediate supervisor, but the supervisor has the ability, the people skills, to get the most out of those working for him.

When we achieve  sobriety we come to realize we are but a tiny thread in the fabric of society. Yet the part we play is important because each thread is what helps hold our world together.