Necessary and Vital
Living gratefully today, I acknowledge the vital importance of my recovery from alcoholism and the commitment to the necessary daily actions it takes. I also give thanks for pleasant and enjoyable family time with people who I don’t see often and some who don’t see one another often either.
Necessary. Vital. These words were part of a discussion I was having yesterday with recovery friends. Necessary and vital. Not just one or the other. Both. Recovery, as I know it and seek to live it, includes necessary aspects like acceptance, letting go, forgiveness, ego deflation. Don’t pick up a drink, but also don’t pick up resentments, judgment of self and others, or other addictive substances and behaviors.
Getting out of my own way is vital to ongoing sobriety. My goal is emotional sobriety. Physical sobriety is an important and necessary part, but just a start on a daily path of making better choices and thinking healthier and kinder thoughts. The alcohol numbed my emotional pain. If I only stop drinking, that pain and turmoil doesn’t go away. It is likely to worsen if left unaddressed. Uncover. Discover. Discard the toxic. Cultivate compassion and self-care.
A vital aspect of this process for me, this removing of roadblocks I put in my own way, is having a relationship with something outside myself. A spiritual connection that offers humble grace and loves me when I am unlovable. I call this loving presence Higher Power, Great Spirit, Universe, God. I can call it anything I want, as long as I call out to it to give thanks and to ask for help. That is how I see it.
Your take on it need not be the same as mine. I just hope your conception works for you. This is my belief and I have seen it work miracles of construction and reconstruction, minor and major, in my own life and the lives of many other recovering people. Others may notice these shifts and awakenings even before we do ourselves. Amazing grace.
Necessary and vital. Daily work for a daily disease. If I don’t keep moving away from the thoughts and actions that led to my last drunk, I am actually moving closer to my next one. Work is necessary. Spiritual connections are vital. Onward!
