“The bottom line was a lack of humility. We could not see that good character and spiritual values had to come first. We had it backwards. We have found that material satisfaction and self-centered gratification of our desires are not the purpose of living.”

– Life with Hope, third edition, page 30

Before I began the Step work, I would have said I’m the least selfish person ever. I was generous and giving and I loved hard. After doing Steps One through Six with honesty and discussion, I realized that I needed to ask my Higher Power to help me remove my selfishness in Step Seven. My desire to feel loved mixed with my codependency and enabling issues masked by staying high was a dangerously selfish combination.

Final thought: Today, even with all the pain and guilt, I think I am one of the “lucky” ones. If it wasn’t for my addiction, I would not have worked these Steps and may have gone through life without spiritual growth.