At the beginning of recovery, most of us can think of at least one person we couldn't stand. We thought he was the rudest and most annoying person on the show. We knew we could do something about it – maybe apply some principles of recovery to overcome how we felt about this person – but what? We asked our supporter for guidance. Maybe he reassured us with a condescending smile telling us that if we keep going to the program, we'll see this man get better. It seemed reasonable to us. We believed that the Steps of NA work for everyone. Since they worked for us, they could work for him.
Time passed and, at some point, we noticed that this man was no longer as rude and annoying as he used to be. Speaking of which, we could stand his presence and maybe he was even starting to like us. At that moment we smiled, realizing who had really progressed. As we continued to go to the program and work the Steps, our perception of this man changed. He who seemed so annoying to us, became tolerable because we developed a certain tolerance. He seemed more likable to us because we began to have more love for people.
So who is getting better? We! As we implement the principles of the program, we begin to see ourselves differently and thus we can see the people around us with a different eye.
