There is a traditional fight in the addiction treatment world. On one side, people say that addiction is a disease. On the other, they say it is a matter of will and morality. But that is a false alternative. There is a third way—both are right, or both are wrong, depending on whether you are a shot-glass half-full or half-empty kind of person.
It’s funny that everyone agrees that no two people are alike, yet they fight over which one-size-fits-all model of addiction is true. I hold there are many elements involved and they are present in different people to varying degrees. But that is another discussion for another day.
The point of this post is that I am adopting an attitude of excellence in addiction recovery. When I comment on a news item, I will mention how it promotes excellence or is a trap leading to relapse. You might ask, isn’t it just enough to get someone clean or sober? Why excellence?
My answer: this is a commitment to a higher view of living. Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, both of which I joined when I needed to, claim that you must have a spiritual awakening in order to get clean and stay that way. A commitment to excellence is not a belief in God, but it is a lasting pledge if taken in earnest. So it resembles a moment of profound inner enlightenment.
You just can’t be an addict and maintain excellence in your life. You can get away with some excellence for some things for some time, but you will not have an excellent existence. You need your aware mind in focus—a lot—to achieve that result. And, as anyone who has travelled the dependency byway knows, addiction grows into a monster all by itself. Before too long, satisfying the craving is your priority, not anything spiritual and certainly not excellence.
This means that, if you are my kind of person and you truly want to get and stay clean, after you acknowledge any self-pity you may feel, you have to let it go. There’s no reason to feel guilty abut it. Just let if flow and know you feel it. But you have to exchange the self-pity for moving up spiritually. Excellence is the path that will help keep you clean. Self-pity will take you back down.
As many former addicts have discovered, addiction recovery is its own reward. It’s great to be rid of that awful mess and suffering, if only for a day at a time. The hidden prize is that excellence is its own reward, too.
Getting recovery right is not just about changing your past shortcomings.
It is also about hope. You can change your future for the better—for an excellent future of excellent achievements and beautiful relationships. You have to dream to feel alive.
You also have to commit to being good just because it’s the right thing to do, but that’s another story for another time.
Who said addiction recovery was easy?
But who said it couldn’t be great?
Technorati Tags: addiction
No comments:
Post a Comment