Blog entry for:

shift their goals, or decide for them what is best for them.
as much as i may wish to, after all i do know what gifts recovery has to offer and what i needed to do to get the opportunity to accept or reject those gifts. bottom line -- the biggest gift that recovery has to offer, at least for this addict is the removal of the NEED to use every single day of my life -- and that is the only gift i want another addict to have the chance to get.
one of the character traits i walked into recovery is, that i think that i KNOW what is best for everyone i happen to run across in the course of everyday life, including ME! i am slowly coming to the realization that i do not actually have a clue what someone NEEDS to do, especially me! the reading however focuses on the fact that i am as powerless over the addiction of another as i am over my own. what i get out of this particular ditty this morning is not the fact that i cannot stop an addict from using, boy oh boy do i understand that an addict will use until the second they are done. that concept i have down pat. no what i get is that once an addict stops using and chooses to be part of my life, i cannot get them to start healthy behaviors, set realistic goals, or do what it takes to achieve those goals. they may ask for my opinion and i may give it to them BUT after that i NEED to let go of the results. it is not a waste of my time and energy to respond to such requests by offering my opinion after being asked for it. it is a waste of my time, energy and sanity to fret and fume over whether or not they have chosen to do anything with my opinion. such behavior on my part is no different than fretting and fuming over whether someone will stop using or not, after all this disease still is active in me, i still behave in a manner that is inconsistent with my values and the spiritual principles that i espouse, so why should i expect anyone to be any different than that?
so just for today, i will offer the best opinion and advice that i can offer based solely on my experience, strength and hope, when i am asked for it. but most of all i will do my best to let go of my expectations and leave the results in the much more capable hands of my HIGHER POWER -- simply easy -- n’est-ce pas?

∞ DT ∞