If we see only ourselves, it's a very lonely world.
We can learn the difference between taking care of ourselves positively and being so negatively self-centered that we are forced into solitary confinement, where we dry up for lack of genuine interchange.
We should know who we are. But we should also know who our neighbor is, and our friend, sister, boss, or child. To know other people and see beneath the exterior they present, we need to be comfortable enough with ourselves so we can relax and look and listen. We also need to be humble enough to realize we can learn from someone else and benefit from the gifts she or he brings to the relationship.
With recovery comes new empathy and sensitivity. As self-will loosens its grip, we are open to the intuitive knowledge that enhances our interactions with those around us. Since our vision is less clouded by the problems of addiction, we can see others more clearly and understand them better. Recovery offers us a way out of loneliness into companionship and community.
I will use my empathy to deepen my understanding of those who cross my path today.
You are reading from the book:
I'm looking forward to not feeling the grip of addiction. It's made me totally self-centered in many ways. Thank you for posting such a beautiful excerpt.
As I've heard before, when the student is ready (me) the teacher will appear to teach me what I need to know on that particular issue; once the lesson is learned, those people disappear and other teachers show up.
But I want to keep people forever!
When gaming I was in self-imprisonment, total confinement. Once the games stopped, though, reality hit me like a rushing train.
The website and the meetings helped a great deal. Being with people going through similar thoughts and feelings helped tremendously. Over this past year and 11 months many people showed up at meetings, then left (got well and went home?), the people who stuck around and showed up weekly helped me most.
I keep coming back now to welcome newcomers, and to remind myself that gaming is only a mouse-click away.
It mattered to me if someone noticed I was at the meeting. And when newcomers keep coming back it reaffirms to me that there is hope beyond gaming. Life begins after gaming.
It's important to me to keep our connections with each other, whether going to meetings or sharing on the website. It keeps us connected with recovery.