Easter

With Easter just around the corner, I thought I would talk about one of the key components of recovery: a higher power. Now, I’m not going to get all preachy and tell you what I believe. Instead, I’d like to discuss the concept of a higher power and how it is important to recovery.

If you’re an addict, which we all are to some extent, then you are aware that you have your limits. If you never failed at anything, then you wouldn’t have any addictions, your life would be perfect, and you’d be the wealthiest, happiest, wisest person on the planet. Since none of us are that person, we can make one, clear, conclusion. We aren’t the highest power in the universe. Maybe we yield to our family. Maybe we yield to our friend-groups. Maybe we yield to the government. At some level, there is most certainly a power greater than ourselves. But what’s really cool is that just the action of admitting that is a huge step toward recovery–for the very reason we have to admit it in the first place.

If I’m not perfect, then I acknowledge that I may not have made perfect decisions, and that’s OK, because I’m not perfect. It’s really that simple. We can draw from that though. If there is a higher power than ourselves, we don’t even need to know what it is to lean on it for recovery. The word used in the faith-based world is “pray”, but the idea is the same. Simply by focusing on an idea, you are setting a goal. And even if you do nothing else to pursue that goal, it will start to come out in other ways. You’ll find yourself talking about it because you’re so focused on it. You’ll find yourself planning for it. You’ll find yourself working toward it instinctively.

If your goal is recovery, then admitting you’re not perfect, and leaning on a higher power to be greater than yourself is really the only way to do it too. That’s why it’s part of the 12 steps. You can’t recover from an addiction if you believe you’re the highest power in the universe. Then you wouldn’t have the addiction in the first place.

Let me be abundantly clear. We simply can’t recover by ourselves. We need a higher power. That’s my message for today.

Happy Easter!