"This too shall pass." It is always hard for me to remember that when I'm hurting and uncertain. But it really is the truth, no matter how hard it is to believe at the moment - and the truth is what I'm after. It's requires such a leap at first to truly believe that there is a new life out there for us. We're riddled with feelings of resistance and even unworthiness. Connecting to this site, identifying with others who have been exactly where you are, is what ignites the miracle of recovery. We all have an internal vision of who and what we can be, but it's buried beneath the surface-level thoughts - the same thoughts and mind that caused our addcition in the first place. Our addicted minds go into overdrive in early recovery - pushing us back into our old pain with the same old lies. Tapping into other people, into a program that guides us through the initial pain, is so crucial. But it requires surrender and often seems counterintuitive. I know that when I listen only to my own thoughts, when I wrestle with recovery on my own, it is overwhelming and insidious. Ultimately, the example I see in other people is what helps me to have faith, and opens the door for me to find myself. If I practice acceptance and try not to judge others, but to see the positive, powerful example of recovery they offer me, it breaks down the walls I've put up and hleps me believe that I can have it too.