What the Life You Deserve is like
Life is an incredible gift. I know that when I look into a sky smeared with colors of a warm sunset, or I share moments of true happiness with those closest to me. I feel that this life is something so amazing there are no words intense or beautiful enough to express it. This is coming from someone who used to wake up to a life shaded in a fog of depression and fear, wishing to die and hating myself and everything around me in active addiction. When drinking and using drugs I felt confined to a cycle of life that seemed hopeless, and no part of it felt remotely happy or genuinely fulfilling. However in sobriety I have found that the quality of life that is possible, the one you deserve, is a life of freedom, faith, and love. No life is perfect, but the life you deserve can give your perspective a way to see it as a glass half full, and it’s all possible in recovery.
Freedom
When they say in the rooms of recovery that you will know a new freedom and a new happiness, when you establish sobriety through a program of action, it is everything it’s cracked up to be. The levels of freedom obtained in a life of sobriety are beyond what most people initially expect coming into recovery.
In sobriety the freedom from the desperation of active addiction is something remarkable. To be able to wake up and go about your day without the physical pains and symptoms of not having that drink or drug to settle your withdrawals, or put your scattered mind at easy long enough to be miserable, is one of the first great freedoms you can reach in recovery. After medical detox your body begins to heal itself from that physical dependence, and in many cases your health will already start to improve.
Once a little effort and honest work has been put into understanding your addiction and you have taken the necessary steps to grow as a sober individual, there are new opportunities for freedoms every day. In sobriety we ultimately gain the ability to go anywhere and be exposed to all types of life without fear, provided we maintain our sobriety through our actions and practicing our principles. The life you deserve is one of liberation from the substances and the shame, from the fear and the physical pain. This kind of freedom for an addict or alcoholic is well worth fighting for.
Faith
The life you deserve is one full of faith, or hope, if you prefer. Essentially the life you get in sobriety is not built around fear and anxiety. You no longer have to try and manipulate the way things are, or the way you would have them play out. Life is so much more beautiful when we are able to trust the process and put faith in the fact that things will be OK without having to stress over the outcomes and circumstances. Not everything always goes your way, but this life offers perspective.
That faith is not just in the world around us, it is also faith in ourselves. While drinking or using drugs we take the faith out of the equation and poison ourselves and our future. Addicts and alcoholics typically have a great deal of issues within themselves that they have struggled to deal with, and rather than cope they blot it out with using or drinking. The life you deserve, and the one you can achieve with the right action, creates new self-worth, self-awareness and confidence.
In sobriety I have been given the chance to live by spiritual principles, and those principles allow for me to trust in a power greater than myself, and to trust in my abilities as an individual in order to grow and prosper. My faith was built on the grounds that once I put faith in the fact recovery was even possible and it was shown to me again and again how it had been done, I resolved to follow that path and trust that it would change my life. I can honestly say every day is amazing, because I don’t wake up hopeless any more.
Love
I might sound crazy but The Beetles said it best, all you need is love. Love in my opinion is the essence of our lives and the reason we live. Love is the magic we are made of, and it is the infinitely expanding and evolving energy that makes up all things. The life you deserve, the one you will have once you make the decision to reach out and get it, has a great capacity to give and receive love on a whole new level.
In active addiction we cut ourselves off from feeling just about anything, including love. We drink or use drugs to numb away the pain, and at the same time we cut ourselves off from appreciating the kinds of love we do get from those closest to us. As an addict I know I had so many people in my life that meant a lot to me, but the relationships I had during that time were jaded by drugs and alcohol. I didn’t honestly receive and appreciate the love that others gave me, and any compassion or affection I attempted to give was diluted.
The life you can have in sobriety is one that gives you the power and inspiration to break down the barriers you have set up between you and the people around you. Life in recovery is about overcoming our deepest defects, growing in our awareness and understanding, and creating relationships that are meaningful. We as creatures of love have such an incredible capacity to give love to others, and we get the best out of this life when we help others. Whether it is just a few kind words or a life-long commitment to trust and honor one another, we can improve our life and the life of someone else by helping them.
Not every day is perfect, and not everyone will live this way. We all have the potential to live this kind of life; where we are free from drugs and alcohol to be whatever we want to be, where we can put faith in ourselves and in the world around us to rise to the occasion, and where we can love one another unconditionally. The world would be an infinitely better place if we could all take these chances seriously, but too many people don’t and in turn they miss out on some of these possibilities. You deserve this life, and if you want it you need only seek it, and be willing to see it through the tough times.
Not everyone gets to live the life they deserve, because not everyone gets the help they need. But anyone can have this kind of life and there is so much help for those who want it. If you or someone you love is struggling with substance abuse or addiction, please call toll-free 1-800-777-9588