So many times, we give credit to the rooms, our sponsor, and network of friends, as well as associates within the fellowship. Claiming only to have the credit for putting action (faith) into what our giving program has suggested. If something happens (recent friend) and a person returns to active using, those same people (I watched last nite) claim one thing, they chose to do this and it's no one's fought but there's. To say the final choice comes to the individual is undebatable and correct, but to say, these individual's had a part or could have contributed, by co-signing a sick behaivor a.k.a. "BULLSHIT" is also true. Why do people with clean time, who have worked steps and claim to have growth, chose to accept responsibilty for positive growth in the individual yet unwilling to acknowledge and accept their role in the choice before the useing. We all know relapse happens before the picking up of the drug.
I agree we must acknowledge our role in our recovery and relapse. We are not responsible for our addiction, but we are responsible for our recovery. I do my part in my recovery by not using, going to meetings, working the steps with a sponsor, reading literature, getting involved in service and the fellowship, practicing spiritual principles, and so on. I have never seen anyone relapse who has done these basic things dilligently. People who relapse always stop doing the basic of recovery (especially not going to meetings). When we see people are starting to slack up on their program, or are acting foolishly, we need to call them on it. If one of my home group members has not showed up at a meeting in a while, I'll give them a call and ask what's going on.
Hi Melvin, I remember asking questions similar to yours.....Early in recovery we hear all these glorious things from people with extended clean time. they sound like such spiritual giants that we forget that they are sick addicts....Yes, they may have moved farther along on the journey of recovery than us, but still....they are just people suffering with a disease from which there is no known cure. People in all walks of life are quick to take credit for success and loathe to take blame for failure. You see it everywhere, work, school, relationships etc. and the rooms of NA are no different. Always remember that the program of NA is in the literature...anything else is an individual opinion. Always remember that there are miracles in the rooms, and there is no denying the theraputic value of one addict helping another. But never forget that we all are sick people who suffer from an incurable disease and y'know what? that's ok.
