The spring season brings up many images of renewal. Flowers are blooming, babies are born; the world wakes from its winter sleep. This idea of rebirth can be easily applied to the inner work we do when we embark on the path of recovery. We leave the old way (soil, womb, sleep) for a new one (above ground, alive in the world and awake). I have a professor, Dr. Michael Wapner, who talks about change and how scary and threatening it is for most of us. Dr. Wapner likens our journey of change to that of a hermit crab.
Synopsis:
The process of change can be threatening. Like a hermit crab finding a new shell to inhabit, we too must endure a time of exposure and vulnerability when growing psychologically and emotionally.
I used to think so. If I gave up some of that responsibility and surrendered, I’d be shirking my responsibilities! And I'd be weak!
What is recovery anyway? What’s the difference between sobriety and recovery? Both concepts may seem equally undesirable during the first phases of help-seeking for addiction, alcoholism or other behaviors that no longer serve us.
Brene Brown, a self-proclaimed “researcher/storyteller”, says that our ability to feel loved and accepted comes from having the belief that we are worthy of love and acceptance. Huh? Basically, we have to buy it. If we don’t allow it to be true, it won’t be. But how do we allow this to be true for us if we don’t feel it?