One day when a client was painting a bedroom wall on a hot summer morning, he asked: "What does this have to do with recovery?"
When I asked what he meant, he said, "Me painting this wall. I'm not sure what this has to do with me staying clean and sober."
"Well, are you drinking or using drugs?" I asked him.
"No," he replied.
"Well then," I told him, "that's the point."
I think that sometimes our clients believe that sobriety is all about going to meetings and maybe being in counseling.
And while that's a crucial part of staying sober, there's more to it than that. Sometimes being in recovery is hard work. All of a sudden we're like the rest of the world: getting up in the morning after going to bed sober. Doing a job that we don't necessarily like. Treating other people with respect. Paying our child support and other bills, like rent and groceries. We begin to understand that the real heroes in the world of those who work hard, support their families, pay their bills, and don't cover up their problems with drugs or alcohol.
Another reward for doing the boring work that at times comes with recovery – especially for those who work at TLC – is that we're performing a service to the recovering addict who's coming in behind us. Whether we're a TLC employee, or whether we're simply doing community service, giving to others helps pave the way for those who have never experienced recovery.
TLC was built by one addict helping another. And while much of the time we're not face-to-face with the addicts we're helping, when we're preparing a place for them to live and get sober, we're doing the ultimate in service work.
Most of those who succeed at TLC are those who don't question why they're asked to do certain things. Instead, they have blind faith and just do what they're asked because the information is coming from someone who's been sober much longer than they have.
A life of recovery many times lacks the excitement and drama of the drug world. But there's a deep satisfaction that comes when we rejoin the human race and start giving back to the world.
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