Recovery is about thinking of yourself less
The other day, I was on line to get tea. There was a plain dressed, unassuming woman behind me. She had a serious look about her.
I stepped to the side to wait for my tea. The woman gave something to the girl behind the register. The girl beamed with joy over what the woman gave her.
I was curious, so I asked her what it was. She told me that it was a $5 gift card to give to either the next customer or anyone who needed it. The card said "God Bless, enjoy!" and it had a smiley face.
I told the woman I was so touched by observing her random act of kindness. I asked her about it. She told me that her 4 sisters always get together in the fall to enjoy a pumpkin spiced latte, and she wanted to pass on the gift.
I asked her if she's done this before. She has. I asked how do people react? She said now she usually leaves before she sees who gets it. She told me about one time she was still there. The person next in line was a very well dressed man. She figured he didn't need it, but actually---he did--just not in the way she thought. He started to get teary eyed at her gesture, and said "No one's ever shown kindness like this to me before." It definitely moved him.
She said to me, "It's only $5 but it is such a blessing for me to pass it on and make a difference."
I don't know if she was in recovery or not, but I definitely thought in that moment, "here's a woman who thinks about others, and not just about herself."
Before recovery, I was constantly in my own head thinking about myself. Even when I thought I was thinking of others, I was really just thinking about myself. A gift of recovery for me has been to get out of my own head and genuinely think of others.