Wisdom Of The Rooms - 2014

[bluidkiti]

July 7

Quote of the Week

"We must learn from the mistakes of others because we won't live long enough to make them all ourselves."

Before recovery, I was very judgmental. I especially liked pointing out other people's mistakes and making fun of how stupid they could be. When I made a mistake, I was quick to blame circumstances or others, and rarely did I take responsibility or admit that perhaps I was to blame. After years of avoiding or evading the consequences of my mistakes, they finally caught up with me and I had to surrender.

When I entered recovery, I was still in denial about my behavior, and each time I heard someone share I would think: "I wasn't that bad," and "They sure need to be here". My sponsor reminded me to listen for the similarities not the differences, and soon I began to identify not with their actions, but with their feelings. Once I identified with their feelings, I learned the powerful word "yet". I hadn't made those mistakes yet, but if I had continued drinking and using I probably would have.

Over the years I've learned to listen to and benefit from other people's experience. Now when I hear of the mistakes others have made I'm quick to see how I've done something similar, or how I could have easily made the same mistake given similar circumstances. Today I'm grateful for the mistakes I've made and for what they have taught me, and I'm even more grateful for the mistakes of others. You see, I understand that:

"We must learn from the mistakes of others because we won't live long enough to make them all ourselves."