February 28 The greatest gift


"Our newly found faith serves as a firm foundation for courage in the
future "

Basic Text, p. 93


When we begin coming to meetings, we hear other addicts talking about
the gifts they have received as a result of this program, things we
never thought of as "gifts" before. One such "gift" is the renewed ability
to feel the emotions we had deadened for so long with drugs. It's not
difficult to think of love, joy, and happiness as gifts, even if it's
been a long time since we've felt them. But what about "bad" feelings
like anger, sadness, fear, and loneliness? Such emotions can't be seen as
gifts, we tell ourselves. After all, how can we be thankful for things
we want to run from?

We can become grateful for these emotions in our lives if we place them
in their proper perspective. We need to remember that we've come to
believe in a loving Higher Power, and we've asked that Power to care for
us-and our Higher Power doesn't make mistakes. The feelings we're given,
"good" or "bad;' are given to us for a reason. With this in mind, we
come to realize that there are no "bad" feelings, only lessons to be
learned. Our faith and our Higher Power's care give us the courage we need
to face whatever feelings may come up on a daily basis.

As we heard early in recovery, "Your Higher Power won't give you more
than you can handle in just one day:' And the ability to feel our
emotions is one of the greatest gifts of recovery.


Just for today: I will try to welcome my feelings, firm in the belief
that I have the courage to face whatever emotions may come up in my
life.

pg. 60