You’ve plugged into your local meeting. You’ve worked the 12 steps. You’ve even built a fellowship of clean and sober friends with whom you share your life. That’s amazing, but that’s not all there is to living sober and clean.
True recovery is about becoming a contributing member of society, in the stream of life OUTSIDE as well as INSIDE the safety of the rooms. And when you’re spiritually fit, you can go almost anywhere.
What if you love music and want to attend one of the big festivals this spring? No problem. Hit a meeting in the morning before you go, bring a sober friend, or even visit one of the meetings on the festival grounds. Sobriety is often present in the most unlikely places, if you look for it.
Or what if you’re invited to an important cocktail party for work? It helps to keep in mind your real reasons for going. If it’s important for your boss to see you there, or that you connect with a client, achieve that objective and then give yourself permission to leave.
No matter where your road to recovery may take you, it’s important to always have an escape route planned in case you end up in a situation that is uncomfortable or threatening to your sobriety. For example, make sure you always have your own ride home – or enough funds to call a cab!
And above all, give yourself permission to say no to experiences when your gut tells you it’s not a good idea. Even if you’re confident that you COULD make it through the experience with your clean time intact, it doesn’t mean that you have to put yourself through the test.
Stay connected to your Higher Power and your recovery network, and your head and heart will help you make the right decisions as you navigate life. And make sure you always return to the source – meetings.
Some members like to think of their home group as a kind of home base in a game of tag: the place where you return to rest and recharge as you play the game of life.
Because life in recovery can and SHOULD be fun, exciting, rich, and enlightening. Best of all, you’ll be fully present for every minute of it.
For more on how to build your own life in recovery, call us today!