Blog entry for:

the things that just may work for me! i have been clean for a few days now and one thing that has got me a bit flummoxed is this whole notion that some of my peers are having with the content being shared in meetings. specifically, if what is being shared is making them uncomfortable, then the atmosphere of recovery is lost and they no longer feel **safe** in that meeting. honestly, if i started whining about how uncomfortable i felt when some of my peers shared what they did, way back when, i would not be here today, complaining about how uncomfortable they feel. the sage wisdom that was given to me, by all three of my sponsors, was feeling uncomfortable was part of the process and that IF i wanted what the three of them had, i would have to get over my bad self and listen to what was being said, no matter how twitchy it made “feel.”
ah, but musing about what once was and what is, does not get me anywhere this morning.

Linda L,
CONGRATS! SEVENTEEN (17) years clean.
I am glad you keep coming back.

i often forget that how it was and is for me, is not how it is and was for everyone else. Linda was a great one to point out, that i could be intimidating and that perhaps i “needed” to be a bit kinder and gentler.
sitting here this morning, dealing with work issues and wondering when i am going to get my work-out in, i can empathize with those who seem to squirm when i share, that not everything is rainbows and daisies, just because i got clean and stayed clean. i often hear notions and idea that upset my worldview, in real life as well as when my peers share their experience strength and hope. where once i could dismiss those as not applying to me, today, i have to be a bit more cognizant of the fact that i am no different than they are, and what they share, no matter what i may “think” them or their recovery, does pertain to me. being present for what they say and how what they say makes me “feel” is the part of active listening that i can do a bit better, just for today.

∞ DT ∞