Feeling Better

 People often join things in order to feel better.  They don’t really want to change, but just feel better.  For instance, someone joins a religion, gets baptized or whatever is called for, goes to the services and meets a few people.  This makes them feel better than when they had no religion.  But soon enough they drop out because either they no longer feel better or they feel well enough that they don’t “feel” a need for all this church stuff.  My church has a lot of adults who join and are gone within a year.  In Recovery it is often the same thing.  Lots of newcomers who want to feel better.  But they don’t really want to change.  They just want to feel better and not drinking for a while does that for them.  But they have no interest in interior change, which requires some work, like the twelve steps and being of service to the group.  They stay for a while, say all the right things, and then disappear.  Feeling better is not a motive for conversion of heart and head.