Recovery Reflections: June 14, 2017
Salutations everyone; it’s Christian once again, and I would like to give you all another warm welcome to Detox to Rehab’s Recovery Reflections. Please join us and listen to the experience, strength, wisdom and hope shared by Madison, Megan and Josh.
We will pre-record readings from various sources that reflect on recovery. We express how the readings have affected us in our recovery, and hope we are able to help inspire you on your journey.
True Satisfaction and Contentment
“True satisfaction never comes from feeding addiction. Nothing is ever enough. The only possible outcomes for those who do not seek recovery from their addictions will be complete breakdown and untimely death.
St. Augustine explained why it’s impossible for humans to find true satisfaction in pursuing pleasure. “Thou hast made us for thyself and our hearts are restless until they repose in thee,” he wrote, with reference to the Divine.
As we come to understand that true satisfaction comes from the Spirit, we will, surprisingly, receive more satisfaction from the worldly things we use. We will begin to look upon our possessions for the service they give rather than as the things that should make us happy. A new care should give us comfortable satisfactory transportation, but it cannot give us peace and true self-esteem. New clothes can please us, but they will not do anything for our spiritual depression.
Why didn’t we know this all along? Probably because we falsely believed that certain possessions would bring fulfillment. They can’t do that, but when we are thinking right, our appreciation of everything should increase. I’ll not expect true satisfaction in this world, although I’ll get more out of it if I put things in the right order.”
-Walk in Dry Places, June 14
Monetary Possessions Have Little Value
“I went through something recently where I actually got a new car, and I felt good for a few days, but then I started feeling guilty, almost,” Josh said.
Nothing is ever handed out, and nothing is ever free. As Josh points out, after talking with his sponsor, he learned realized that physical items are not the source of happiness. The ability to use a car, something so normal and simple when compared to the entire world, is a privilege that is earned.
Material possessions are not what makes life though. It is nice to have things like a car or a house, but these monetary possessions are not what make life worthwhile. You can be comfortable, but if you do not like yourself, then there is nothing that can change that.
And that is what recovering is all about: becoming a person that you will be able to like.
Knowing When to Keep Growing
“You can lay down at the end of the day, and breath and relax,” Megan says.
You will never find enough of anything that can fill that hole of emptiness inside of you. This is the basis for any kind of recovery: knowing that there is something you are missing and you have tried to fill it up with all sorts of items. Living a purposeful life, one that is accordance to the program, can show you how empty and shallow you once were.
“I feel like God has blessed me, in order for me to keep growing,” Madison goes on to explain.
Working the program can make one’s life simpler and easy by knowing that a life without drugs or Alcohol is the simpler and rewarding life. One of the aspects of the program is surrendering to a higher power is important to understanding that there is something bigger than yourself. When using drugs or Alcohol, you were acting selfishly by saying this substance was worth more to you than anything else.
Knowing that there is more work to be done is the quintessential aspect of human life, one that is full of progressions and understanding. Being comfortable in one part of your life shows that you are ready to move forward. Happiness is not a destination, but a journey, and feeling content where you are shows that you are ready to move forward to the next part.
If you or a loved one feel like it is time to recover from the wreckage of your past, check out our website and give us a call. We understand what it is like to be trapped by addiction and want to help in any way we can: (866) 578-7471
