My roommate acted out in an ill-advised inappropriate way in a store
today. My perception was that it was
using behaviors coming out sideways due to not working the steps and getting a
fuller measure of relief from 12-step recovery.
She was || that close to going to jail and creating major hassles in her
life.
Instead of a litany of critical comments for being stupid, I got to see
her pain as manifested by acting out in old behaviors and then provide loving support for her while not
condoning her actions. It went as well
as could have been hoped for in that situation. As addicts, our perception would be that she
did something dumber than using crack or heroin. In reality, she pretty much just planted a
big red flag identifying a problem that she needs to work on and did not cause
any further damage—much less the kind of irreparable havoc that using would
have created.
I am grateful to be a much better friend today
than how I used to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment