In sober recovery, we are encouraged to spend a little time each day thinking about our recovery and our mental (or spiritual) well being. We are advised to ‘meditate’ each morning (not of the chanting variety) by reading something from one of the many daily reading books available for people in recovery.
I have looked at two readings for today, August 26th , and each has a personal message for me. The first talks about keeping what we have (which I understand to mean our sobriety) by giving it away. This I interpret as giving my time and help from my experience to other people who are struggling with the effects of addiction. Whether they are themselves the alcoholic or addict. Or whether they have someone they love in this situation.
Share Experience Strength and Hope
Lots of people do this and give their help by going to AA or NA meetings and sharing their experience, strength and hope with others there; this can extend to giving their telephone number out to people who need to talk and / or to those who are struggling and /or new to recovery. Some after a year of sobriety can answer the telephone helpline or offer transport to accompany people to their first meetings.
By giving in this way we are actually helping ourselves. If we help a fellow alcoholic or addict we feel that our own harrowing experiences in active addiction have not been entirely without some benefit. It improves our self worth if we know we can offer something of value to a fellow human being in trouble; and also, by seeing their struggles and their difficulties in active addiction or early recovery. It reminds us how awful it all was for us. Reinforces our desire never to go back there again.
Sober Recovery
The second reading concerns the actions we all need to take in recovery at the end of the day. In order to live well and in a mentally and emotionally healthy lifestyle. We are advised to take stock of each day at its end. Think whether or not we have done anything wrong. If we have, we are to admit it. Deal with what we have done wrong promptly. Making amends to anyone we have harmed. So we might say sorry. Or make amends in a more relevant way by doing a good turn, for example. A phrase associated with this is ‘keeping our side of the street clean’. We cannot control what others do as we have no power over them. We can make sure we live our own lives honestly and without causing harm to others.
Obviously we have to actually mean that we are sorry and we have to be focused on learning from what we have done wrong and not repeating it. Making amends is not a licence to do the wrong in the first place! But if this habit (Step 10 of the 12 Step Programme) is carried out with sincerity and good intentions. We can all live life in a better way and as a result become happier people.
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