The weather in the UK is a good way of looking at our lives. The sun is not always out, it rains. Sometimes we are blown by the wind. Sometimes we are battered by storms and lightning bolts from nowhere. There are small or large clouds on the horizon or overhead. However, I like to think that there is always the promise of a rainbow in the stormier times. Exactly like addiction recovery after a solid rehab programme.
Not only do we need to enter the flow of difficult times and learn to cope with them, but also we need to learn from them. Our lives will not be without pain and difficulties but these times will help us to grow – and help us to appreciate the sunnier times. We see life anew when we have been through storms and we welcome more gratefully the calm following the storm. Can reflect in the calm what we learned in the storm. We can look more closely at ourselves, meditate and pray that we conduct our lives as we should.
Addiction Recovery – Life on Live Terms
We have to live life on life’s terms. Just because we are in recovery does not mean that we are not going to experience anything bad ever again. We will face broken marriages and relationships, the death of loved ones, family troubles, difficulties at work, problems with our finances, challenges from and worries about our children. All the things that anyone who is not a recovering alcoholic or addict experiences. We just have to use our resources of living in the day and doing the right thing to get through whatever difficult times we face. Always acknowledge our part in any difficult situation if it is something over which we have had some control.
Healthy Life
In the end, everything has a purpose and we will come through to the other side and see why we have been through what we have been through. If you are a recovering alcoholic or addict, you probably can already see what you gained by going through that difficult time when you were drinking or using too much. Most of us now have more compassion than we had before, we are more prepared to reach out to others, are less judgemental – and by working our twelve step programme we are now living a healthy well intentioned life, giving to others.
I am going to finish by quoting the words of a much loved song from Carousel (Rodgers and Hammerstein) and now much loved by Liverpool fans. It sums what I have been saying rather neatly:
Never Walk Alone
“When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high. And don’t be afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm there’s a golden sky and the sweet silver song of a lark. Walk on through the wind, Walk on through the rain, though your dreams be tossed and blown. Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart, and you’ll never walk alone. You’ll never walk alone.”
The Haynes Clinic is an alcohol, gambling and drug rehab clinic which offers detox and counselling for people with addictions.
Call 01462 851414 for free and confidential advice.