Recovery Reflections: September 6, 2017
Hello everyone! My name is Bianka, and I would like to give you another warm welcome to Detox to Rehab’s Recovery Reflections. Please join us and listen to the experience, strength and hope shared by Megan, Madison, Patrick and Joey.
We will pre-record readings from the book Daily Reflections. We express how this reading has helped our recovery or how it has impacted us. We thank you and hope we can inspire your recovery journey!
Alcoholics Anonymous
September 6, 2017: Removing Threats to Sobriety
. . . . except when to do so would injure them or others. . . .
-Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 59
Step Nine restores in me a feeling of belonging, not only to the human race but also to the everyday world. First, the Step makes me leave the safety of A.A., so that I may deal with non-A.A. people “out there,” on their terms. It is a frightening but necessary action if I am to get back into life. Second, Step Nine allows me to remove threats to my sobriety by healing past relationships. Step Nine points the way to a more serene sobriety by letting me clear away past wreckage, lest it bring me down.
Working the 12-Steps Honestly
“I’m owning my part, I’m admitting my wrongs and I’m willing to right my wrongs,” Joey said.
The 12-step program is what saved my life from the depths of Heroin addiction. I tried every other way to stay sober I could think of and nothing worked. The burning desire to use drugs and alcohol did not diminish until I worked the 12-steps.
I have tried working the 12-steps a few times before they became successful. The only reason the 12-steps did not work in the past was because I was not willing to put all my effort into working them, and I was still living a dishonest and selfish lifestyle.
I couldn’t be a new person with old habits; I always went back to Heroin as my escape. I knew the 12-steps worked though, because I saw it in other people, I just wasn’t ready to grasp it myself. Thankfully, a few years down the road, I became willing to do what it took to stay sober and that was working those steps as honestly as I could.
I got a sponsor and started working the steps right away and immediately saw change in my life. When I got to step nine, I was terrified to face some of the people I had harmed, but I knew I wouldn’t stay sober if I didn’t, so I got right to work.
I bought a planner and started making phone calls to people that were hurt because of my actions, to see if there was any possible chance we could meet and talk. Some told me to never contact them again and others met me to see what I had to say.
As I met with these people, I told them I would do anything I could to make what I have done right and I was serious when I said it. Most just wanted me to stay sober and keep doing what I am doing and others wanted a better friendship.
“It was their opportunity to be over that chapter id they hadn’t been already,” Patrick said.
I could tell how much some of these amends meant to these people. I could see a light in their face and it made me feel so good inside. I was giving them a chance to get over the past if what I have done was still bothering them. I believe making amends is a very rewarding process, because it doesn’t only allow them to move on, it allowed me to move on from the person I once was also.
“Without growth there is no improvement,” Joey said.
I say it allowed me to move on because there were somethings I have done that I thought I could never forgive myself for. However, facing that fear and making those amends allowed me to grow past what I did and helped me understand that that is not who I am, and I don’t have to be that person ever again.
“It works, it really works for all our problems,” Megan said.
I am a person of serenity today- I live for helping others and strive to better myself on a daily basis. I wouldn’t be this person if it wasn’t for working through the 12-steps honestly. I am grateful that I was lucky enough to find addiction recovery before it was too late. I wouldn’t change my past for the world because it has given me such a bright future to look forward too.
If you or a loved one want to find serenity in life, give us a call. We can help you find the treatment you deserve. Our number is: (866) 578-7471
