That's a tall order. To love someone "...whether or not the loving feeling is present..." goes beyond the superficial, reaching that place our N.A. text calls "unconditional". Think back for a moment to your days of active addiction. Can you remember times that you said and did the most terrible things to the people who loved you the most? Chances are, at least some of those people are still present in your life -- wives, husbands, children, parents or friends. They loved us despite the things we did to them and to ourselves. In fact, for many of us, these were the people used as instruments by our higher power to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. They stuck by us, and we can learn from their example that when the chips are down, when hell breaks loose, or when it just doesn't seem worth it anymore, we are still capable of loving, "...even when the loving feeling is not present." This, our Basic Text tells us, is "unconditional" love, and we can share it with other struggling addicts, our loved ones, or even that $#*&!!! who cut us off on the freeway today.
Smile. Relax. Were it not for unconditional love, most of us would be in jail, institutionalized, or DEAD. Think about that the next time you hear "How It Works" at an N.A. meeting.
And don't forget to love somebody today. You owe it to them. Really.
:) Jeff S. :)
