Yet, it's probably one of the most important concepts in recovery. As someone at the meeting said, it's very difficult to have gratitude and also relapse at the same time.
The speaker was a young woman who had been sober for some time. She told a compelling story of how she got into alcohol and drugs. She talked about the trouble she got into. She talked about almost losing her children.
But the main thing she talked about was the gratitude that she has for her life today. She has her daughter back. She and her husband are getting along better than ever. Have a nice place to live. And she has a decent job where she works long hours – but at least is able to pay the bills.
Generally speaking the plot is always the same at a 12 step meeting. What it was like. What happened. And what it's like today.
The most compelling part is what's going on today. Because that's how the people who come to the meeting learn. They find out that if they apply the principles of the 12-step programs that their life can be entirely different.
If they follow the steps they have a 100% chance of staying sober.
That's because the program has 12 simple progressive steps to guide us into a new way of living. And if we follow them diligently we have a good chance of living free of substances for the rest of our lives.
