Comparing
“Our personal stories may vary in individual pattern, but in the end we all have the
same thing in common.”
Basic Text, p.84
We addicts are a varied bunch, coming from different backgrounds, having used
different drugs, and recalling different experiences. Our differences don’t disappear
in recovery; for some, those differences become even more pronounced. Freedom
from active addiction gives us the freedom to be ourselves, as we truly are. The fact
that we are all recovering doesn’t mean that we all necessarily have the same needs
or goals. Each of us has our own lessons to learn in recovery.
With so many differences from one addict to the next, how do we help one another
in recovery and how do we use each other’s experience? We come together to share
our lives in light of the principles of recovery.
Though our lives are different, the spiritual principles we apply are the same. It is by
the light of these principles, shining through our differences, that we illuminate one
another’s way on our individual paths.
We all have two things in common: addiction and recovery. When we listen carefully,
we hear others tell of suffering from the same disease we have suffered from,
regardless of their specific backgrounds. When we open our ears, we hear other
addicts talk of applying spiritual principles that promise hope to us as well,
regardless of our personal goals
Just for today: I have my own path to follow, yet I’m grateful for the fellowship of
others who’ve suffered from addiction and who are learning to apply the principles of
recovery, just like me.