Change by not Changing

[Emotions - V]

We all know non-addicts.
We all know addicts.
Few of us know sober addicts.

A life of sobriety for an addict is darn near impossible. But it happens!

I asked a sober addict how they ’succeeded’.

“Everyone told me to change. Chided me. Criticized me. Threatened me. Hated me. They were right, and I knew it. I did those things to myself, too. I was killing myself and everyone I loved. But I couldn’t change. Nothing I tried worked.

Then I met some one that said, ‘Don’t change. I love you just the way you are.’ I mean, they didn’t love the drugs, but they loved me despite the drugs. I relaxed. I stopped criticizing and hating myself. And I changed.”

So it is with our dark, negative emotions.

You are the friend that must look in the mirror and say, “ I love you just the way you are, exactly the way you feel.”

[Beginning tomorrow, I’ll be devoting at least a week of reflections to each of the following emotions: anxiety, fear, restlessness, insecurity, self-pity, and doubt. And I have some friends that will be contributing their insights!]