Gambling Addiction & Recovery Support Group

At our local AA meeting last evening I heard somethig kinda cute.........A gent asked us if we had ever heard of someone getting up in the morning, looking at life, seeing that everything was fine and all was going well, that there don't seem to be any problems of any kind......and making a decision to attend a 12 step meeting.

Doesn't sound like something that would be very likely to happen, does it?



No, folks don't find their way to meetings, into counselor's offices, or onto sites like this one because their lives are rolling merrily along........people come to places like this for exactly the opposite reasons ......... because they're alone, afraid, confused, hurting.......and they're looking for, usually, relief from emotional pain and a solution to their problems. Often these people are so sick that fear and denial prevent them from seeing the exact nature of the beast that is attacking them. Often, they make excuses, blame others, deny circumstances, lash out in anger, flash false bravado, pretend to be "sensitive", hide from the truth, avoid responsibility ...... None of these behaviors are wrong, this is simply a person beset by addiction, using whatever coping mechanism they have, to deal with a disease which has them baffled, confused and feeling hopeless.



So, what's my part in all this? How do I help these people? Are they even my responsibility? What can I do for them? How much can I help? How much should I help? How do I maintain my own recovery, and not become entangled in theirs? How do I ensure that I'm not overly harsh, and at the same time not be too gentle with them?



This recovery business ain't always black and white, I've learned.......Lotsa gray areas......When to speak my truth, when to allow another to find their own truth, when to admit that perhaps a truth does not exist.

All people are different. Yes, we may share common tendancies, but recovery is a personal spititual journey and all walk a different path........ some paths seem to be more painful, more twisted, longer, than others. I'm only another recovering addict. How am I supposed to find the answers to all these complicated questions, dilemmas, choices and situations?



The best answer I've come up with to all these questions comes in one simple prayer.......

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.........

......(in this case, emphasis on the "wisdom", please)



GA Step 3- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of this Power of our own understanding

I cannot do it all, I cannot know it all, I cannot understand it all.......
Posted on 11/05/09, 11:11 am