I was taught a couple of things early on in recovery… First, take your own inventory, let every one else worry about theirs. I have been having a hard time with this. I just want to know what kind of 6th and 7th step people are working when all I hear is self-centeredness and self-righteousness? What kind of serenity has been achieved when I see so much anger? If you are going to rant about the steps, make sure there are not gaping holes in your recovery.

 

Second, this is a program of attraction rather than promotion… How attractive is it to be attacked and belittled? When I see blogs implying that the readers on here may not be intelligent enough to comprehend simple facts (and it is written with spelling and grammatical errors), I get offended. As addicts and alcoholics we are smarter than most… we have to be to get away with what we do. Don't insult anyone's intelligence on here… It's just rude.

 

I never claim to work a perfect program. I do one thing perfect… I don't drink or use, no matter what. I never forget how terrified I was to detox or how painful the process was. I never forget how devastatingly alone I felt during that time. I don't want to forget how much that one gentle hand reaching out to me helped so much. I hope today to be that hand… the one that quietly builds confidence that you too can stay clean 5 more minutes.

 

And I hope I never forget that I don't know anything.