Seeing the Past Clearly

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"Seeing the Past Clearly"

This clever feature of addictive disease prevents us from enjoying oversight of ourselves with any positive result. It also prevents us from having hindsight. Our perception of our history is altered while we, or those we care about, are under the influence of mood-altering substances. With addiction, hindsight is not, as the saying goes, 20/20.

Hindsight, or our ability to see our past clearly, is a learning function that, when damaged through the use of alcohol or drugs, renders us unable to look at the past to guide ourselves through the present and into the future. Without this ability, we cannot learn from our mistakes. We cannot clean up the wreckage of our actions. We are locked into a cycle of repeating the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. This is commonly known as the definition of insanity.

The difinition of insanity: Insanity is
repeating the same actions over and over
again while expecting different results.

The Second Promise of Sobriety says that, "We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it." It strongly tells us that the prize for remaining sober is true awareness as it is, not as we would like it to be. Learning and change will result from this gift. The insanity of the disease will go into remission and a sense of sanity will take its place. This is a lofty Promise that is, at first, diflicult to believe.

Being able to look into the past and gain understanding from it is a gift of sobriety. When we give up the shame and guilt that is a by-product of addictive behavior, we are free to open up the door to the past. We can then rely on our own experience to help us know the healthy way to go in the present. Being able to look behind us from whence we came helps us judge how relatively right or wrong we are in this very day.

---from Gifts of Sobriety by Barbara S. Cole, pages 30-31