“Those who stop coming to meetings face a rough and lonely road.”

– Life with Hope, second edition, page 74

Many in the fellowship are familiar with the phrase “Progress Not Perfection.” Some of us wander off the path of recovery and can relapse back into our addiction. We have wandered away from a clearcut path that many have worked to make safe and straightforward. It leads to a destination and has fellow travelers and signs letting us know where we are heading.

The only time I stopped going to meetings was when I relapsed. I suddenly found myself in rough terrain, alone, not knowing where to turn and certainly getting cut and banged up through the metaphorical thorny bushes of my addiction. The relapse into addiction was often a direct result of feeling alone. In those moments, I was not stopping to ask fellow travelers how to keep going, I was not listening to my guide (sponsor), I stopped reading the signs and road map (The Twelve Steps). Instead, I just went my own way, giving up on the idea that anyone who’d come before me would have anything to offer.

To get lost and then come back onto the trail can feel, at first, embarrassing and full of shame. Not once did an addict on the road to recovery shame me for coming back. Instead, they held out their hand(s). Life with Hope reminds us that we do not have to face recovery alone.

Final thought: Today, I will choose to walk the path of recovery and to connect with my fellow MA addicts through a meeting, fellowship, or a phone call.