Quote of the Week

 

I was attending a meeting the other night and a newcomer raised his hand and asked what he could do to relieve the shame he felt. He shared that he hadn't been sober very long, and that the list of wreckage he had created was overwhelming. He was just becoming conscious of the damage he had caused and the feelings of remorse he felt were intense. He couldn't believe the things he had done, and his family wasn't letting him forget it either. How could he have been so bad, he asked?

 

And that's when someone shared this quote. They reminded him - and everyone at the meeting - that alcoholism is a disease, not a moral failing. He said that when we are drinking and using (in our disease), the things we do almost always lead to sorrow and remorse, and that it is because we are sick, not necessarily bad people. Once we treat the disease, the behavior almost always gets better, and so do we. He ended by advising this person not to focus on his old behavior, but rather, on the process of recovery.

 

This advice is right on, though it took me many years to see the wisdom in it. I was so used to identifying with my behaviors that I rarely looked at the underlying cause - a sickness called alcoholism. But once I focused on my recovery, I did start to get better, my behavior changed, and my wreckage cleared up as well. I "grew a consciousness" so to speak, and today I act differently.