Thanks for bringing back this thread, Todd! I love to hear about others experiences with the program!
Each of us has a few things we can say we never did. We cannot let these things become excuses to use again. Some of us feel lonely because of differences between us and other members, and this makes it difficult to give up old connections and old habits.
My first attempts at recovery, a number of years ago, found me sitting in meeting rooms horrified by some of the stories I heard. I used to think 'Oh My God! I can't imagine ever having that happen to me. I'm glad I'm not that bad.' Unfortunately,they became my 'yets'. I never left my children alone at night to go use. Yet. I never had my kids taken away. Yet. I never tried to end my life. Yet. etc.... etc....
But the longer I kept using, some of what I heard, happened to me anyway. Unknowingly, my scorn and disapproval would become my future. I naively thought that I had the power to control what happened to me when I used. All those bad things happened to other people, not me. Thank God I had some rude awakenings and the desire to stop the pain and devastation I was causing.
Today, when I hear someone's story and think that I can't relate because it never happened to me, I trust in the fact that it could, and I always put that one little word at the end of my thoughts. 'YET'
I don't have to be able to relate to the specific circumstance. I only need to relate to the feelings that come out of it. That is what keeps me feeling connected, less lonely, and a part of something truly remarkable - The fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous.
Peace
cj