Sharing the Journey
All through the 12 Steps you have relied on others. Sometimes their strengths have not been obvious, but they reminded you that you are not alone and that helped. Sometimes they were able to guide and mentor and advise and that helped even more.
Now that you are a recovering addict there are many opportunities for you to pass on and share everything that has brought you to where you are. Undoubtedly this will help those following in your footsteps and undoubtedly it will help you too.
Telling others about your experience of the 12 Step Programme will remind you of all that it has done for you and how far you have come and to what a better place. That awareness of what you have gained will strengthen your determination to continue to grow and develop.
Listening to others who are wrestling with the demands of the early Steps is a helpful reminder of how far you have come, and of how much you could lose if you do not continue to work hard and constantly to remain in recovery.
At first you may not feel ready to support others, and it is true that at first you can do so only in small, but nonetheless invaluable, ways. But as you continue to learn from those who guide and sponsor you, you will be ever better equipped to offer advice and support to others. As you gain experience you will do it better.
When you seek to befriend others, some will respond with that special friendship which is a strong support for you own continuing recovery and which enriches your life in so many other ways too.
Having had a spiritual awakening because of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs