Acceptance rids us of many burdens.
When it comes to change, many of us addicts get stuck on what has happened to us. It's hard for us to accept the bad things that occurred while we were drinking and drugging and creating a path of wreckage across the landscape.
Some of us have gone to jail due to drugs or alcohol. Maybe our relationships and marriages disintegrated. We might've been booted out of our jobs. Maybe we were seriously injured in an accident while we were under the influence. Perhaps we have the feeling that we would be much further ahead in life, had we not been seduced by the pleasures of alcohol or drugs.
And many of us, rather than live in the present moment and enjoy the beauty of recovery, dwell in the past and ruminate about what we lost. But none of us can explain the benefit of doing this. And that's because none of us can change the past. If we're lucky, we can only learn from our mistakes.
I know many people who have dedicated their lives to focusing on the bad things that happened to them, even though they can do nothing about them. They identify as victims and will tell you the story of the terrible things that befell them as soon as you give them an opening. One woman I know, who within five minutes of meeting someone new, starts telling her story about the husband who deserted her and her daughter over 20 years ago. At first, people feel sorry for her, until they realize that what she's talking about occurred half a lifetime ago.
I know others who refuse to define themselves by their past. I know one woman in particular who has risen above her ghetto upbringing, started her own business, and who spends time in her church helping others who were raised in similar circumstances. She has turned her negative upbringing into a positive example for others.
So we have the opportunity when bad things happen to use them as steppingstones to success or as excuses to return to our favorite drug. It's our choice as to how we spend the precious moments of our life.
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