Often times in drug and alcohol rehab clients come face to face with their behavior.  While actively using they rarely think about the results of all their actions.  Consumed by the quest for their drug of choice, life focus is simply on procuring more drugs and alcohol, and covering the tracks of such usage.

Once the cloud of being high is removed, reality starts to sink in.  Remorse and sadness flow freely.  Much of this stems from the permanent damage of the past.  Days and months that have been lost are gone forever.  Lies and manipulations will always be in the backs of the minds of families and friends.  Sometimes it seems that being sober, the clients think they will never restore the damage that has been done.

It has to be remembered that forgiveness is an internal personal thing.  Do not make it external.  Decide for yourself what behaviors you want to exhibit and those you will never do again.  Then follow your plan.  Decide on what you consider a resonable period of time following this path to start to forgive yourself.  Each day you follow this path, forgive yourself more.  When you have made real changes, and those in your life know it, you may want to appologize for your previous actions.  Forgive yourself as you acknowledge your mistakes. 

Those around you in your life may forgive you or they may not.  Both is O.K.  It is their right not to forgive you if that is what they desire.  Be open to them, but let them follow their path.  Your personal feelings should be determined by the rules you set for yourself for forgiveness.  Live in the present.  Forgive in the present.  Love in the present.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 23rd, 2006 at 5:07 pm and is filed under Drug Rehab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.