At times we can all come face to face with the adversity: debt, unemployment, long-term illness, change in our physical and mental well-being, addictions, relationship break-ups, bereavement and loss…that list is endless.
Moments and experiences where we think we are never going to get out the other side – when in the darkness we see no choices, that the situations or circumstances will never get better.
I don’t know anyone who hasn’t faced adversity at some point.
How long do you/did you give yourself to recover?
Recover?
Yes. A period of time to ‘be well’ again.
The word recovery is well used by in the AA 12 Step Program.
The more I ponder the word today, the more I believe that we all have been/are/possibly will in the future require periods of recovery.
In this context there isn’t a definition for the word recovery, although some are trying to hijack it and give it one.
Recovery is a journey, and underlying the entire process is one word…hope.
Hope is the foundation.
When facing lives problems it can be easier to say, ‘I can’t do this any more’ or ‘I give up, nothing is ever going to change’.
Hope is the word that says ‘please try, one more time’, when you tired out from trying.
Hope says ‘it just might’, when you say, ‘this is never going to get better.’
Hope says ‘forgive yourself’, when you say, ‘I feel so guilty’.
And recovery is the acceptance that life is not an outcome.
Recovery sees you as a whole person. Recovery understands and accepts that any journey is going to be faced with humps and bumps, there is never a ‘starting again or over’ period.
In recovery there is no pressure to ‘finally arrive’.
Recovery isn’t a one way journey.
You may fall down, you may fail, and you may not make it this time and hope says, it’s okay there is always next time.
Recovery isn’t about taking all life problems away; recovery is about recognizing that they are there, but hope and acceptance that they don’t define you.
You are the most important part in the journey of recovery, not the circumstance or the adversity.
Even if you’re going through the worst that life can through at you, hope holds the belief that your life is your own, and you have complete control even if you don’t see it or feel at that time.
Recovery isn’t achieved in isolation.
Recovery is the acceptance that we all need support at some points in our life, that we all need a sense of belonging, good relationships, and the opportunities for personal growth.
Recovery is not about being fixed, be sorted, be repaired. It doesn’t isolate in that way. Recovery and hope don’t label you with conditions or the need to be treated.
Recovery is personal. Nobody can determine a path for your recovery. You choose the way.
Hope let’s you decide which path. Hope walks with you wherever you travel. Hope is the trust and the promise that the adversity will end.
Hope is courage. Hope will want to show you how resilient you actually are.
Allow. Allow yourself to recover.
This post reached through the Internet and gave me a shake Dawn! First off it made me realize that I don’t use the word hope much; it is tied to the past and disappointment so at some point I simply dropped it from my vocabulary. But the way you’ve expressed it here, well you make me want to pick it up again.
And if recovery isn’t about being fixed or repaired, I’ve got some work to do here as well! And of course the irony is I can catch these issues with clients in my work, but they show up as blindspots for myself. So I’ll do my best to remember these words as I move forward, “Hope says forgive yourself.”
Dawn,
Super message! Hope and being positive are also excellent for your health.
You do a great job at motivating others – T :)
My life has been a horrible 6 to 8 years. Well the last 2 years I have found hope. I am recovering for the problems that others have put in my life. It feels so good to have hope again.