Wisdom Of The Rooms - 2020

[bluidkiti]

September 28

Quote of the Week

"Everyone wants to feel better, but no one wants to change."

Before I had a program, I did a lot of things to feel better. I moved; changed jobs, girlfriends, and cars; tried different combinations of drugs and alcohol; took up yoga; joined a gym—the list is endless. While these things worked briefly, inevitably I would be left feeling that giant hole inside of me, a hole that I could never fill and that always made me miserable.

When I entered recovery, I had the same initial relief as when I tried other new ways to distract myself. After a while, though, that relief also began to wear off, and I could sense the emptiness returning. I met with my sponsor, and he told me I was feeling this way because I was resisting and refusing to change. “But I’m sober!” I told him. “Yeah, but you’re still trying to do things your way. Until you surrender and really work the Steps, you’ll just be the same old you—only you’ll be miserable and sober this time.”

Thank God my sponsor was willing to tell me the truth, and thank God I was ready to hear it. Deep down, I knew I was the common denominator in all the things I had tried that didn’t work, and once I got to Step Four and honestly looked at my part in things, I finally realized what had to change: me. While thoroughly working all the Steps, the promises began coming true for me, and today I am not the same man who entered the rooms all those years ago. Today, I am happy, joyous, and free. And that was worth changing for.