We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.83
Once I became sober, I began to see how wasteful my life had been and I experienced overwhelming guilt and feelings of regret. The program’s Fourth and Fifth Steps assisted me enormously in healing those troubling regrets. I learned that my self-centeredness and dishonesty stemmed largely from my drinking and that I drank because I was an alcoholic. Now I see how even my most distasteful past experiences can turn to gold because, as a sober alcoholic, I can share them to help my fellow alcoholics, particularly newcomers. Sober for several years in A.A., I no longer regret the past; I am simply grateful to be conscious of God’s love and of the help I can give to others in the Fellowship.
{ 2 comments }
This is a hard one for me. I understand it intellectually but emotionally I still regret the years lost to drugs and alcohol. Them again, I am still working on my 4th step. Hopefully, I’ll feel, really feel, differently some day.
Even after quite a few 24 hours I realize all that happened in the past got me to this point I am today. I wish some of the things I did back then didn’t hurt others like they did. Even though amends have been made and relationships are so much better now it is still tough to think of the way I behaved. Thankfully readings like today’s keeps those negitive thoughts brief.