Could You Elaborate?

via Daily Prompt: Elaborate

I went into the rooms of 12 Step Recovery running from the past; what I had done, who I had hurt. I was looking for shelter, cover, and perhaps some ideas on alibis that might work with the people that I had used during my active addiction process. I did not start out to be a bad person, it was just that necessity became the mother of invention as I began to create false scenarios in order to explain away my erratic behavior and missed commitments.

I was told that in recovery we would come to a place where we could be, ‘Happy, Joyous, and Free,’ if we stuck with the 12 Step principles and applied them to our lives. All I knew was that I was really uncomfortable in my own skin at all times. My mind was racing, my skin was itching, my emotions were agitated and my relationships were now gone, along with my career, my self-confidence and my hope. I hated to look in the mirror in those days, because I had let myself down in life.

I was emotionally, mentally, and spiritually bankrupt and I was barely hanging on physically at that time of my life as well. I went into a recovery fellowship meeting and they had a poem on the wall called, ‘The Man in the Glass.’ I felt that was almost an omen that I certainly belonged there. I surrendered completely to them and made myself available and willing to do what they suggested in all areas of my life. I had nothing to lose.

As it all turned out, I had everything to gain, starting with a lot of new friends that were real friends that would speak the truth in love to me, and loved me where I was. I also got about forty other things that I was not really expecting to get when I went in. I just wanted the madness to stop. Here I will elaborate on the forty things I recovered or gained as a result of working the 12 Step Recovery Process: Faith; Hope; Love; Trust; Humility; Joy; My Identity as a Child of God; Right Standing with God; Grace; Mercy in my Heart; Prayer Life; Peace of Mind; Soundness of Mind; Sobriety; Good Judgment; Sense of Purpose and Direction; Integrity; Reputation as a Christian; Honor; Pride-Self-Esteem; Family; Pride in my Heritage; Confidence; Energy; Health; Strength; Endurance; Stamina; Breath; Music; Smile; Sense of Humor; Harmonious Relationships; Fellowship with the Church; Ministry; Courage; Discernment; Charity; Stability; and a Testimony.

When at look at my list, I realize that not everyone wants everything that was on my list, but many of these things were lost to me as I was when I started the journey. I was wounded in my faith and a return to the church seemed undesirable to me and totally out of the question, after all that I had said and done. The gist is that I got everything that I needed to give me a smile that is radiant and genuine when I look in the mirror, and today I can truly say that I really am, ‘Happy, Joyous, and Free.’

 

The Ultimate Bestowal

via Daily Prompt: Bestow

I have survived times of extreme desperation laden with hopelessness during my journey through this life. Usually, I try to simply learn from those experiences and rise up and move forward toward a more upbeat future. There was one time however, when no matter how hard I tried, or how much I might strategize, I simply could not pull myself up out of the miry pit I had slid into.

This circumstance of total helplessness initially came about as the result of a back injury that I sustained at work as a Registered Nurse in the ICU unit at the hospital. I was prescribed muscle relaxers and pain pills, and I was encouraged by the employee health nurse to stay heavily medicated in the interest of healing. I decided to potentiate the effects of my medication by drinking beer during the day while I convalesced.

Meanwhile, a storm was brewing in my life that culminated in an epic struggle with the Workman’s Compensation Office that was handling my claim. It seemed that the physician who treated me at the hospital where I was employed had recorded that my back trouble was caused by ‘Degenerative Changes.’ That dumbfounded me and I retorted that I was young and able-bodied when I arrived at work and injured and degenerated when I left work that day. During those years I had a definite sarcastic attitude problem.

Workman’s Comp was trying to deny my claim and a battle of correspondence ensued from my camp that caused me to believe that I probably needed more beer to go along with my other medications. I quickly increased my intake of beer to over 24 per day, which is a case a day. I was drowning in a sea of self-pity and I was eaten up with bitterness and and became a reservoir of vitriol in all my communications with Workman’s Comp, my employer, and gradually with the politicians that I felt could help me with my struggle.

I finally garnered a surgery, after conservative treatments had failed to resolve the herniated disc that the X-rays revealed. Unfortunately, my drinking had escalated to more than a pastime by that point. I was unable to abstain from drinking beer even up to the time that I went in for surgery early one morning. I had a lumbar fusion on my lower vertebrae in my back and the pain was inconceivable to me. This added to my sense of entitlement regarding any kind of pleasure that I could get out of life at that point.

As my life whirled mindlessly into the downward spiral of active addiction, I became somewhat delusional. This progressed until I was in active hallucinations whenever I was drinking. I decided that I must be an alcoholic at that point, because I felt that no one but an alcoholic would suffer from hallucinations while drinking. I knew from experience as a nurse that I had a real problem at that point. A physical problem, I thought, at that time.

I had been a practicing atheist for 14 years because of seeing the results of child abuse during my nursing school rotation at the county hospital. I felt that there could not be a God if such things could happen in the world, and so I left my childhood faith behind just before I graduated. The hallucinations that I was having caused me to rethink my atheist philosophy because I came to feel that I may actually really have a soul and a very troubled soul at that.

I became suicidal and wanted to end it all with the shotgun we kept in our home for protection. My ex-husband had enabled me to a large extent by always bringing home a case of iced down beer every night. My drinking caused us to have fierce fights that ended in some altercations, that I started.

One night things came to a head and I realized that demons are real and that this was my reality now, being tormented by demons when I drank. I realized that death would probably only continue my disturbing spiritual condition because my soul could not break free from the evil that I had brought upon myself. I was suddenly convinced that I must call out for help from the only One who is able to destroy demons, Jesus Christ. I was afraid to approach Him after my behavior as an atheist, and yet I was totally desperate. So I prayed and asked Him to take away my compulsion to drink alcohol and take away all the demonic forces that had gathered around me.

Relief came immediately and I knew He had answered my prayer. The next day I called the State Board of Nurses to see if they could recommend some sort of support during my separation process from daily drinking. They asked me to go to Alcoholics Anonymous and I did go there. What I found there was totally different that what I expected to find. I thought it would be a lot of men that had been living under a bridge downtown for some time. When I arrived I was struck by the healthy, peaceful, happy appearance of the people at the meeting. I could not believe anyone could be in such a condition that had any real experience with a sever addiction to alcohol.

Everyone shared their own experience with being overcome by alcohol and by the time that they finished talking hope had been bestowed upon my languished spirit. I could believe that I might someday be like them and regain my health and possibly some joy in my life. Their gift of sharing themselves with me turned out to be the turning point from a life of misery to a new life of freedom from not only alcohol, and drugs, but also from some negative character traits that had skewed my perception of life and people for quite some time.

That was the end of my atheist lifestyle of rebellion, lust, and drugs that had brought me to the brink of Hades and to the point where I almost did not make it back to the world of the living. I credit Jesus Christ with bringing me into recovery, and the fellowship of recovering addicts that makes my life so full of joy and worthwhile today with giving me real support for a new life of freedom. Now, I get to rescue others who have slipped into the pit of final destruction, and we all get to enjoy a brand new life that really means something together. There is a God in this world and He will answer when even a disillusioned atheist calls out to Him from the depths of despair.

 

 

Practice Partaking

via Daily Prompt: Partake

More will be revealed. This is a common phrase in the rooms of 12 Step Recovery fellowships. Behind it is the idea that in order to gain recovery in their lives, people will be partaking of the mysteries behind the 12 Step process long before they can understand fully the concepts behind the 12 Steps. We like to say that we act our way into right thinking, rather than think our way into right acting. Sometimes a sponsor may point out to a skeptic Newcomer who is trying to balk on going forward in process, “Your best thinking got you where you are today. Why not try using they synthesized thinking of the 12 Steps for awhile and see how you like the results?”

We have always heard that we should ‘Look before we Leap’, and that would suggest that we would be wise to know fully what we are getting into, how it will work in our own life, and exactly what results that we will gain from complying with the written suggestions the 12 Steps spell out. Change is not easy, and it is often uncomfortable; this is not highlighted in the instructions for taking the 12 Steps to Recovery in the Anonymous Fellowships.

Acquiring something really good in our lives usually will mean that we must let go of something not so good so we will have room to receive the new reality. Letting go can mean losing something, a person, a relationship, a quality in a relationship, a habit, or a way of thinking. This is why we have catchy phrases in these fellowships like, ‘Let Go and Let God.’ My God cannot make changes in my life for me if I am clinging to everything that went into making my old life so miserable that I sought recovery. I cannot partake of new activities and opportunities, when my plate is full and my schedule is overbooked. You have to give something up to get something, as my sponsor used to tell me.

This is probably the main reason that we have sponsors in the program. They are able to nudge us forward gently, lovingly, or otherwise, so that we move seamlessly into the next phase of a new life with all its benefits. I will admit that they do not always seem like the most altruistic people with no self interests. Sometimes they can be almost insistent that we move forward. This is usually after a long plateau period has gone on indefinitely.

In addictions, whether to substances or behaviors, we tend to isolate ourselves from the scrutiny of other people so that we can live in our addictive use of substances or people, and so that we can nurse the illusion that what we are doing is justifiable under the circumstances. Sponsors encourage us and set the example that we need to see in order to come out and partake of freedom from addiction and enjoy a brand new fresh clean life.

 

A Working Relationship

“Most of us lacked a Working Relationship with a Higher Power. pg. 24, Narcotics Anonymous, Basic Text

What is a ‘Working Relationship’ with a ‘Higher Power’? This is a question that is sure to come to the mind of any religious skeptic, doubter, or even any complacent, or undeveloped, believer. Well, the word ‘Working’ indicates that there is going to be some energy and effort expended on my part in and when we add the word ‘Relationship’ this pretty much indicates that I am going to have to cooperate with someone in this. The words ‘Higher Power’ establish the lines of communication, chain of command, flow of authority, or where I fit in in the pecking order.

Apparently, I am being asked to cooperate with someone other than myself in order to accomplish something. For me, this was a whole new concept. I lived in my own head, and in all my dreams I was always in charge, or the hero. Never was I cooperating with anyone or anything, or following anyone else’s direction. Some people thing they can avoid this arrangement and still get recovery, but I have never seen that work yet. The crucial key for me was that I could not be in charge of and direct my own recovery. I had to surrender to agree to follow someone else.

This was extremely difficult for me, but I was just desperate enough to get recovery to be willing to agree to try it. I chose a pretty woman younger than me that rode a Harley Davidson Motorcycle and wore leather clothing that matched her husband’s. She seemed to have some authority about herself and was in recovery with some significant clean time. During those years I was hesitant to accept any conventional spiritual beliefs or practices, so she said that I could follow the directions in the recovery literature and use frequent contact with the recovery group as ‘The Power’ in my life. They were clean and I was just entering the world of recovery, so they had a lot more power than I did. My ‘Working Relationship’ in those days was a 12 Step Working Relationship.

After 4 months, this flamboyant, assertive woman insisted that I had to ‘Fish or Cut Bait’ on my 4th Step Moral Inventory. That made me pretty resentful, but I certainly did not express that to her! I just started writing about everyone else I was mad at. I noticed that she had a sweet and perfect peace about herself when she was not supervising me. I wanted that for myself. I wanted to be ‘Cool’ in recovery at that time of my life, and she certainly was that. I was mortified when I found out that she was a Christian, but she did not force her faith on me, or act like I had to agree with her in it. I became willing to say, ‘God, please keep me clean today,’ each day and I am still doing that every day. It has been almost 23 years and I have not had to use any mind or mood altering chemicals at all in all that time. That’s the first part of the ‘Work’ in my ‘Working Relationship with my Higher Power.’

After all the 12 Steps are worked we have to decide how full and fruitful our lives are going to be. Over and over I see people who seem to think and feel that they are now free and able to fully indulge in a self-centered life that revolves around their own desires for relationships, accomplishments, possessions, and entertainment. Often it seems to me that they do not get the same kind of fulfillment that comes with a real dedication of my time, energy, and money to pursuing the cause of assisting others who are reaching out for help. I certainly have felt that I was too busy to do any of that in the past, but my sponsor seemed to get a little pushy about me going out to talk to others in meetings or at treatment centers who were in the process of trying to recover. I thought, ‘I have nothing to offer them.’ I also thought, ‘I don’t think they really want to recovery.’ I even said that to my sponsor, but she told me that was none of my business. I was going there to improve the quality of my own recovery and that it would build character in areas that may not have been fully developed before I entered recovery.

So, I went to the treatment center and told my story to a room full of women who suffered with addiction. When I finished, several of them came to me and asked me for help. Now, I needed a ‘Working Relationship’ with a ‘Higher Power,’ because by myself I cannot even have recovery myself. I have to ask ‘God’ every morning to give it to me. A few of those ladies are still with me, about 5 years later! They are still clean and still growing in recovery because they are asking God to keep them clean each day. Today I do a lot of other work with God. I have prayer times because I love God now and I like to spend time with God sharing my heart, my hopes for myself and others, and my dreams.

This all brings me a lot of joy because I actually get to see the movements in our lives of some of these prayers being answered. Yes, I did get miracles of recovery when I was using the group for a Higher Power, but today I am getting a lot more traction and seeing a lot more action. I still always follow my sponsor or mentors, and I always am sponsoring or mentoring someone. For me, that keeps the circulation flowing in a healthy and balanced way and there is always an opportunity to be advised of anything I may not have noticed in my own recovery. That is what a ‘Working Relationship with my Higher Power’ meant to me today.

A Work in Progress

I am really enjoying all the people that I get to know and interact with in my recovery walk, and I believe that God puts them in my path on purpose. I can learn something from anyone who is currently abstaining from any kind of an addiction on a plan or program. I have progressed to the point, as far as years are concerned, where I feel the pressure to be some sort of example or case of all these unruly habits and emotions being reigned in perfectly in an ongoing state of recovery. That is just not my own reality though.

     Certainly I have been through detox and been set free from the gnawing urge to get away right away that formerly resulted in drug use, drinking, or relationships in the past earlier years of my life. I am past the early damage control phase when I woke up and saw the reality of the true result of trying to escape consequences of my actions or omissions. I have changed careers, emptied the nest, divorced, had a religious conversion, and made a lot of amends. I am surprised as I take a close look at my life to find that I still have 4 or 5 issues that require my careful attention and the development of a more disciplined approach, and probably an accountability partner of some sort.

     Oh well, pride is one of the character defects that I really had a lot of while I was in a state of intoxicated self-deception. I may as well let it go and accept the help that is always offered to anyone who reaches out for recovery. I may be to the point where I am really supposed to become a ‘Good Housekeeper.’ I never have had time to shine in that arena, but I perceive that other people can do that. Perhaps I can model some of their behavior, lol. I guess that recovery lifestyle really is like peeling an onion, as I have heard said so many times. You get a layer of habits and conditions off and have some good times for awhile; and then you run into the next layer! May I never perceive myself to be completely developed or recovered. There is so much adventure, joy, and revelation in the journey to becoming who God intended me to be. I am so grateful to be able to learn from the other travelers on my way.

“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;” 1 Corinthians 1:27

Addiction Revelation

Well, I have finally figured out my real addiction secret. I am addicted to comfort and pleasure, and I am allergic to adversity, challenge, and discipline in my life. Now it all suddenly makes sense to me, after spending the last 2 decades addressing my addiction issues and relationship issues in various ways. Apparently, I get lost in the more pleasant experiences of life and want to stay there indefinitely, until I get all tangled up in the pursuit of it like a sticky spider web. Historically, whenever I have encountered adverse, challenging, or potential discipline-building activities, I have shied away from those; eventually in any way that I could, including just vacating my own consciousness through manipulated relationships, sex, getting things, achievements, alcohol, recreational drugs, or food. I see now that I developed a habit of having a bad reaction in my being, when I could not escape the unpleasantness immediately, starting off in my adolescence with the habit of running away.

     Well, I finally called on God to help me and He really has helped me over the years to not be able to get away in the same old ways. Suddenly, my bag of tricks was useless, because all my old escape hatches were closing up on me and change was looking me right in the face. I kept telling God in my fervent prayers that I needed this fix, or that fix, and He just kept on letting me know He was there with me and did not deliver what I was requesting. I will admit, that I thought He was kind of mean for that at times. At first recovery was like a game of ‘Button, Button, Who had the Button?” Certainly, I initially thought the problem was my mate at first. Then, I came to believe that it was alcohol, or perhaps drugs. As the recovery years and fellowships started, the causes bled over into all relationships, sex, rage, shopping, and people pleasing. Therefore, I simply drew closer and closer to God over the years as all these various problems were addressed and removed from me, by Him.

So, I guess it all boils down to the question, “Do I want to be a good soldier in God’s army in this battle of life, or am I still trying to be a deserter every time the first shot gets fired?” It took a lot of convincing, but I guess that I must admit that some adversity, challenge, and discipline must not only be necessary, but must actually be good for me. Of course, this means that I will probably have to give up a lot of my customary reactions to these three vandals that want to steal and destroy my ‘Pleasure Principle’ lifestyle. All in all, satisfying all my wishes for more rest, comfort, and pleasure really has caused me a lot of pain, hard work, and heartache! I just never looked at it that way before. God bless you all and have a great day .

Problem Areas

Lately, I have been feeling like life is an athletic contest, like the triathlon, and I am coming in close to the finish with a pack on my heels. It seems that every area of my life has been filled to overflowing with a plethora of problems ranging from moderately difficult to impossible to solve. This is not exactly the ‘happy, joyous, and free’ that I signed up for when I entered the life of the 12 step recovery lifestyle.

Some of the areas where I have been having problems in my present life did not even exist at the end of my life nightmare of downward spiraling substance abuse that finally landed me at the rock bottom where I had to be to know it was truly time to give it up once and for all. Areas such as bank accounts, friends, family relationships, a busy home life, university classes, fitness classes, kids’ taxi duty, church, visits to my mentor/sponsor, visits with those that I mentor, sponsor, writing projects, fellowship meetings, speaking engagements, budgets, grocery lists, pet care, and time for spiritual practice of prayer and meditation all these did not exist in my life at the end of the end of the road.

Today, I live in a prosperous universe of abundant provision and abundant problems and constant adjustments. I run, jump, hustle, re-calibrate, jump through hoops, and jump hurdles all day long, counting my blessings all the way as I go on most of my good days. Should the skies turn gray, however, I have as many reasons as I can think of to set up and begin a major pity party, after sending out the invitations by phone, chat group,  and social media. I hesitate to take the party on the road and to a recovery fellowship group. They are such wet blankets, and they come out with a lot of one-liners that spoil that spirit of my social. They say things like ‘Poor me, pour me a drink’, or ‘If nothing changes then nothing changes’, or worse yet, ‘Keep coming back,’ as if I have not understood their meaning and methods yet.

I may decide during these problem times to call my mentor/sponsor and invite her to the ongoing pity party. That is a big mistake most of the time. Many women that are strong enough to help pull people back from the gates of hell from substance abuse have a no nonsense approach and are quick wits with a ready retort, such as ‘How’s that working for you?’ One quick look reveals that my pity party is really going nowhere, and that I am spinning my wheels in my own life. I finally say, “Alright already, I will wave the white flag and accept help from the first person who stops!”

Today I am grateful to have a full life that is healthy, energetic, socially present, active, and productive. I can be there for people and I have become dependable and reliable. Those are words are non-existent in the life of someone with a very serious substance abuse issue. As I look over all my problem areas, I realize that I should really take some time and thank God for giving me a life so full of so many areas to have problems with. God bless you all and have a great day.

Let Me Ask My Sponsor

Life in the world of the addiction recovery fellowships can really be a circus at times. There can be women at the meeting who are there to assess the men there in order to work the club, so to speak. Then there are the guys who are there looking for ‘sick chicks.’ My sponsor told me that when I see this behavior going on, I should leave them alone because if we separate them for the sake of recovery, they will both just get the next sick participant. Thus, we will double our trouble.

Recovery 12 Step rooms are places where some people are still detoxing and are in withdrawal pain from whatever brought them there. So fuses can be short at times, and behavior can be somewhat inappropriate. Sometimes, the atmosphere is engaging and entertaining, if not therapeutic. We like to say in the fellowships that we are ‘Growing up in Public.’ Many people come into addiction recovery with very little, if any, self-control in more areas than just their addiction. It has been said that emotional maturity and growth stop at the time we start abusing substances, or activities, instead of facing and dealing with life on life’s terms. Ouch! This means that I was a 14 year old in a 39 year old body when I finally crashed and hit bottom in my own addictions.

If we are still growing up, then many newcomers may need some adult supervision This is where the lovely people that we call ‘Sponsor’ come in. They, ideally, already have a new perspective on reality that comes from getting honest and becoming humble enough to accept help from others. Also, they need to have a period of freedom from their addiction, like a year or more. Perhaps they have received help from others in their recovery walk, but the first thing that is clear is that they are not open to receiving any suggestions from us. Some of them have unpolished manners and interrupt us just when we are getting to the point of who, besides ourselves, is to blame for our addiction troubles. Some of them seem to have control issues as evidenced by their insistence that we do the 12 Step work their way. Some of them criticize our literary efforts as being less than genuine, when they have given us a writing assignment and we barely wrote anything at all; or put a couple of quick notes on our phone. Some of them seem to try to interfere with our personal pleasure in romance, by saying things like, “This relationship is not real!”, or “You have been having the same relationship with a series of different people.”

Another problem with some of these parent-figure/sponsor people is that they often try to hold us accountable by calling BS just when we are really getting going on our go-to song and dance routine.  They have been known to schedule some of us for talks, service work, or chairing a meeting before asking us if we would enjoy such an activity. Other sponsors are dominant and try to tell us not to share certain details of our addiction history during a meeting; really!

Sponsors are supposed to help us get in touch with our resentments and most of them do a wonderful job of this. My own sponsor said, “It is always better to give a resentment than to get one.” At the time, I resented her saying so. They seem to have a keen eagle eye for pinpointing our character traits that may need to be adjusted, or dropped altogether; in other words our defects. Calling manipulation manipulation, and selfishness selfishness was shocking to me at first. I had been accustomed to some social niceties that included pretending not to notice, or denying it altogether.

Sponsors are there to show us what is to blame for all the problems in our life and, unfortunately, it usually boils down to our own ideas and behaviors. Our best efforts to demonstrate that the actions of others were the cause of our behavior fall flat and are not accepted. Then they say something like, “Who picked those partners out for you?” Good Lord, is there no limit to the audacity?

I tried breaking up with my ‘Sponsor’ several times, but I found out that they all have the same book, so I end up always having the same character defects, no matter who the sponsor was. I have to love them for being strong enough to try to guide the wayward kids that wander in looking for recovery from a lifetime of painful addiction. God bless our sponsors.

Relationship Issues

One of the common circumstances in the meeting rooms of the recovery fellowships centers around relationships and some of the hazards involved in hooking up with a fellow sufferer. Many newcomers find that they would prefer to have a new relationship than to do the work involved in trying to get a new life by the more honest means of self-appraisal and character discipline. Let’s face it, no one chooses an anonymous fellowship, or recovery support fellowship, as their chosen destination on their career path. Most of us end up in one of those meeting rooms because we are dysfunctional in life and relationships, or because we are in dysfunctional relationships.

After watching the comings and goings of meeting makers for a number of years I began to notice a few patterns that seemed to resurface over and over. Many newcomers have an explanation for how they got their membership in our club, often that is a spouse, their kids, or a parent. “They made me drink,” or “they made have to get high.” This idea is rather comical when you think about it. How could someone ‘make’ you drink; or get high?  The images that come to mind are pretty entertaining.

We actually have a name for relationship seeking in the fellowships; it is called the 13th Step. Those who practice that step do not usually seem to enjoy their recovery lifestyle very much. In fact, many of them relapse on drugs or alcohol in a very short time after the newness wears off. Some people are so enamored with their customary roles in past dysfunctional relationships that they are willing to cruise the Codependents Anonymous meeting, or other fellowship meetings, for guys, or girls, whichever the case may be. Some of them do well as a silent, sulking martyr in their relationships, while others thrive in the role of the indignant vocal victim. I am personally not certain that they are actually escaping that much pain and aggravation by choosing a relationship over a Sponsor and the Step work.

Many situations come up in the fellowship rooms, once these unrecovered participants pair up with like their like kind. We have seen everything from tears, to arguments, to fist fights in meeting rooms in some of these cases. Most Sponsors tell the Newcomers not to get into a relationship for one year. Some people object to this restriction on indulging self-will run riot and rebel. However, those who abide by the counsel of the Sponsor seem to fare well in the long run, when compared to the rebel element. We need to look at our inner workings, and repair and damaged areas, as well as correct any erroneous thinking patterns that produce harmful or relationship-sabotaging behavior before we are actually ready to set sail into a healthy new relationship.

One of the best reasons to stay out of new relationships until solid recovery through working the 12 Steps is underway is because denial is so deeply ingrained in most of us when we come in that we do not recognize our own lies that we have been telling ourselves. Good relationships are built on trust, and if I do not know the truth, or cannot tell the truth, there cannot be any trust in the relationship. Don’t worry, Sponsor will tell us the truth, whether we like it or not. Some of the more stubborn Newcomers repeat their mistake several times before accepting any help from others in the recovery fellowship or working the 12 Steps. They have a relationship going on in their mind, and they just need to plug someone into it to feel complete. We do not police any newcomers in the recovery fellowships, however most of us will say to them in these instances, tongue in cheek, keep coming back!

 

Walking the Walk

Thank you for joining me.

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.