Unique, but Not Alone

I am glad that in Emotions Anonymous, just as in Al-anon,  we concentrate on our similarities rather than our differences.   All of us  in program have differences. But in choosing to  remember what pain brings us all here, we need never feel alone.

In our program I learned that it is not my problems that set me apart from everyone else.

As it says in the reading for today:  "It was my own fear and shame, and not the embarassing details of my problem, that kept me at a distance. I learned that when I reached beyond these details, I could clasp the hands of others affected by alcoholism and thus find help." 

"We are all as unique as our fingerprints, but as our fingers join in the closing prayer, each of us is part of a circle of hope that is greater than any of our individual differences."

Let me remember that while we may have our differences,  we all have hearts that beat a similar cadence.  Through your story you reach out to my heart.  As I share in good faith with you, you take my story into your heart.  By virtue of our shared stories, we have strength.

When indeed shall we learn that we are all related one to the other, that we are all members of one body? Helen Keller