Giving Without Strings

Recovery
#1

And he well knows that his own life has been made richer, as an extra dividend of giving to another without any demand for a return.
— AS BILL SEES IT, p. 69

The concept of giving without strings was hard to understand when I first came into the program. I was suspicious when others wanted to help me. I thought, “What do they want in return?” But I soon learned the joy of helping another alcoholic and I understood why they were there for me in the beginning. My attitudes changed and I wanted to help others. Sometimes I became anxious, as I wanted them to know the joys of sobriety, that life can be beautiful. When my life is full of a loving God of my understanding and I give that love to my fellow alcoholic, I feel a special richness that is hard to explain.

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#3

I wish my sponsor saw things this way. He told me early on in my recovery that the way it really works is we sponsor each other. After I couldn’t make a couple last minute hangouts when he needed a friend in my early sobriety, the guy has been a shadow sponsor ever since. We work the steps, slowly. We talk, sometimes. And rarely he says something that helps. I feel like he doesn’t really see me or my challenges.

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#4

Giving from the heart without expecting anything back is something recovery really taught me too. It’s wild how much lighter life feels when we just show up with love.

#5

It’s hard when support starts to feel one-sided. Proud of you for staying in it anyway, that says a lot about your growth.

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