reaching out

image credit: sam bassett

i have posted this previously so excuse me if i am redundant. i sometimes need to hear things again in order to remember. relapse happens so often because we addicts forget. we forget that there are consequences to our actions and we forget that we have to do the work in order to remain on the sane side of the tracks. believe me, this by no means indicates sanity. only the letting go of insanity.

this is from the ca book faith, hope, and courage.

Reaching Out

I made it into this Program because someone else worked their Twelfth Step on me. Someone passed it on to me. Someone was out there after they got clean and sober, caring about others. I need to never, ever forget that. Had they simply gone on with their lives and forgotten about people like me who were still out there using and suffering, I wouldn't be here today. My gratitude begins with that fact. It is with that gratitude in mind that I reach out to others, especially the newcomers. I need to have them in my life. That is where my spirituality begins.

For me, spirituality comes from caring about others. I have found that the more I focus on improving the quality of the lives of others, the less I am into myself and my will. I feel a freedom and peace from within. The gifts I am beginning to receive in my life are greater than I could have ever imagined.

Something else I have done is that I have forgiven myself. I have forgiven myself for being an addict. I have forgiven myself for all the damage I did to my life, to my physical health, and to my career and finances. But most of all, I have forgiven myself for all of the horrible, negative and unloving things I have felt about myself. It was not until I offered and accepted my own forgiveness, that I was truly able to grow in my sobriety.

may the new year bring a new joy to you life. and try to forgive yourself. it works wonders.