Didn’t We Hurt Anybody?

Not anyone? Who among us can actually believe that in our active drinking, we hurt no one but ourselves?  That’s the same fallacious thinking that kept me drinking. It’s as true as a coal baron claiming that they alone built up their wealth, without considering the enormous cost to the miners who made it possible.

I didn’t drink alone in a sealed-off chamber, affecting no one but myself. My bad moods rubbed off on others; my harsh words hurt people; my negligence had consequences. My need to have what I wanted trumped the needs of others.

That is not the person I want to be. Drinking was a symptom, a side act becoming the Main Attraction. 

Now that it has been consigned to the trash bin of ‘well, that didn’t work’, I have to continue to be willing to see what my blinders kept me from seeing, and acknowledge the harms caused by my obsession with alcohol. I have to be open to the unvarnished truth of having caused harm to others, including those I love most. 

If I ask in all sincerity, my Higher Power will show me what my next step must be. The responsibility to take that step is mine.

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