If You Want What We Have - Bluidkiti's Alcohol and Drug Addictions Recovery Help/Support Forums

bluidkiti · 09-14-2013, 12:34 PM

From the Book

If You Want What We Have:
Sponsorship Meditations
By Joan Larkin

©1998 Joan Larkin

---- 14 ----
The truth can be spoken only by someone
who already lives inside it.
LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN

Newcomer
Some of the expressions people use to talk about recovery sounds sickeningly sweet to me. On my first day, someone I’d never seen before said to me, “Welcome to our fellowship.” It makes my skin crawl when they say that kind of thing. And all those slogans! They make me wonder if people in recovery can think for themselves.

Sponsor
I can identify with you. In early recovery, I felt uncomfortable when people reached out to me. I had been impatient and cynical for a long time; I was suspicious of positive statements and looked down on people who made them. My habit of finding fault came in hand when somebody challenged my old ways of thinking. It was easier to criticize others than to look at myself.

It’s funny: when I was active in my addiction, I rarely complained of how tedious and repetitive my life had become. I had surrounded myself with people who enabled my addiction. I must have sounded like a broken record as I justified my addiction in spite of the consequences. Today, my focus is no longer on likes and dislikes. Instead of dismissing people without really looking or listening, I can go deeper and see what’s true for me in whatever they are saying.

In recovery, free of the need to make snap judgments, we can begin to listen in a new way.

Today, I listen without judging. I cultivate
respect and tenderness for others and for myself.

09-14-2013, 12:34 PM	#11
bluidkiti Administrator Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 71,100	From the Book If You Want What We Have: Sponsorship Meditations By Joan Larkin ©1998 Joan Larkin ---- 14 ---- The truth can be spoken only by someone who already lives inside it. LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN Newcomer Some of the expressions people use to talk about recovery sounds sickeningly sweet to me. On my first day, someone I’d never seen before said to me, “Welcome to our fellowship.” It makes my skin crawl when they say that kind of thing. And all those slogans! They make me wonder if people in recovery can think for themselves. Sponsor I can identify with you. In early recovery, I felt uncomfortable when people reached out to me. I had been impatient and cynical for a long time; I was suspicious of positive statements and looked down on people who made them. My habit of finding fault came in hand when somebody challenged my old ways of thinking. It was easier to criticize others than to look at myself. It’s funny: when I was active in my addiction, I rarely complained of how tedious and repetitive my life had become. I had surrounded myself with people who enabled my addiction. I must have sounded like a broken record as I justified my addiction in spite of the consequences. Today, my focus is no longer on likes and dislikes. Instead of dismissing people without really looking or listening, I can go deeper and see what’s true for me in whatever they are saying. In recovery, free of the need to make snap judgments, we can begin to listen in a new way. Today, I listen without judging. I cultivate respect and tenderness for others and for myself. __________________ "No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 3 (0 members and 3 guests)