June 21, 2023 at 5:56 p.m.
Northwoods Recovery
Maintaining vigilance
In speaking and writing about recovery I tend to focus on positives, to the point of possibly seeming a bit of a Pollyanna on the subject. Yes, sobriety will restore to us the good life lost in addiction, but it's no panacea, no cure-all for the myriad challenges we still face every day. If anything, recovery is simply a heavy dose of reality, teaching us to deal with life on its own terms, without drugs and/or alcohol fogging the periscope.
Please forgive me if I've given the impression that in time recovery becomes easier. As the journey progresses, changing situations force us to evolve in our approach to life's challenges, but as we get better at doing so - thank sober awareness for that - complacency can threaten to undo all of our hard work. Each step of the way we need maintain vigilance, need to constantly keep in mind the terrible price we paid for allowing substance use to take control of our lives.
A thought I'm fond of sharing: "I know where my next relapse is waiting - right here in front of me, in a chilled 12-ounce bottle. Pick it up, pop the top and I'm there. Drink that first beer and a second will inevitably follow, and then the third; and the recovery that saved my life will be history and I'll be back in hell once more."
Understanding this certainty will keep that bottle untouched. You say just one beer won't kill me? Wrong! My last one damn near did. Life in recovery is meant to be lived to the fullest, but we cannot ever allow doing so to cause us to grow complacent and take recovery for granted. Gratitude for all that sobriety has given us should be our bulwark, helping to guard against the complacency that could too easily threaten our hard-won sobriety. Maintaining careful vigilance over our recovery while thriving here in these Northwoods, we do recover.
Do you think you may have a problem with alcohol? Alcoholics Anonymous can help. Call our Hotline at (715)360-4637 or visit our website at www.northwoodsaa.org for questions or to find a meeting in your area.
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