As the cold winter days fade away, and the vibrant colors of spring emerge, it serves as a powerful reminder of the beauty of new beginnings. Just like the blooming flowers and the chirping birds, individuals recovering from addiction, mental health issues, and trauma can find solace and inspiration in the analogy of spring.

In today's world, it is easy to get caught up in the chaos and lose sight of what truly matters. We often find ourselves living incongruently, where our actions and decisions do not align with our core values. This can lead to a sense of emptiness and dissatisfaction in life. However, by understanding and living congruently with our values, we can experience a greater sense of purpose and fulfillment.

In the journey of recovery, compassion plays a pivotal role. It is a powerful force that can heal wounds, mend broken hearts, and ignite a sense of hope. Especially for women who have experienced trauma, addiction, and mental health challenges, cultivating self-compassion is essential for their recovery.

Equanimity, a powerful tool for mental health, is often overlooked in our fast-paced, chaotic world. In the face of trauma, addiction, and the daily struggles of life, cultivating equanimity can be a game-changer.

Spectacular awareness means that we ALL must combat this darkness, this hate, this delusion with love and light. I believe fervently that the light will always drown out darkness. We benefit from trusting this universal truth; we must carry the light into every room and interaction we are blessed with.  We must be aware that so many are suffering & within this awareness, we should look for ways to show up in loving service to one another. What a beautiful and in fact divine opportunity. My internal narrative is to lean in and to love recklessly at every turn without judgment, condemnation, or as importantly, expectation.

I start each day by meeting with a group (virtual) of men that have literally helped shape my life. These men serve as both my AA brothers & my accountability group. Let’s just say these men are special and they are wise. They have in many cases helped shape the very landscape of the world of treatment. More than anything, they are men I can and have trusted in every area of my life.

I start each day by meeting with a group (virtual) of men that have literally helped shape my life. These men serve as both my AA brothers & my accountability group. Let’s just say these men are special and they are wise. They have in many cases helped shape the very landscape of the world of treatment. More than anything, they are men I can and have trusted in every area of my life.

My disease was driven by my low self-esteem and high fear of failure. I was a slave to the devious, manipulative, secretive, and insecure mind that told me; I was not enough. I wore mask after mask trying to fit in, trying to be someone I was not. I was paralyzed with fear of losing what I had or not getting what I wanted. My financial insecurities drove me to egregiously poor decision-making. I was arrested in my relational & spiritual development with myself and others because nothing I did was authentic. I blew up some of the most cherished relationships I’ve ever known because I was completely self-absorbed and untrustworthy.

Impulsivity is not our friend.  We frantically followed our impulses to self-destructive extremes. Even those painful actions of the past were motivated, at the end of the day, by a spiritual search. What did we really seek in the bottle, in another all-nighter, or in work? Slowing down enough every day to let ourselves know what we are looking for gives us a much better chance of finding it.

As drugs and alcohol “in the beginning” provide us with that temporal escape we are seeking. The flaw here is that it’s temporal for both a normal drinker/user and the addictive drinker/user. As my life and all it’s experiences continue to evolve I feel more and more grounded in my own inner peace. To be clear, I chased this addiction piece to the very end at about 40 years of age, my life was both practically & theoretically over after years of chasing the beast that is addiction. It was fun and then it got egregiously dysfunctional as I ventured further into the darkness.  

In a few months I will celebrate 20 years of sobriety. Without question, I would be long sense dead if I had not, by the grace of God, stopped drinking and using. Continuing to learn & grow each day, I find my curiosity growing with each passing year, not shrinking. Continuous learning seems to be exactly where the greatest gifts reside.

In a few months I will celebrate 20 years of sobriety. Without question, I would be long sense dead if I had not, by the grace of God, stopped drinking and using. Continuing to learn & grow each day, I find my curiosity growing with each passing year, not shrinking. Continuous learning seems to be exactly where the greatest gifts reside.

There is nothing better than a young child running wild and free through a field or park. This unbridled joy is fascinating to observe and so seducing to try and capture for ourselves as adults. It seems that through the road of life some of the luster or magic is lost; as the complete freedom of a child slowly morphs into this very human thing we called, becoming an adult.

I’ve found one of the best ways to serve is to lean into the tough stuff when people are in crisis. You know, when the human condition is telling you to run the other way. Try turning back around and leaning in when no one else will.

What if we lived every day as if we were a child on Christmas Eve? So excited for the opportunity to be alive for another 24 hours. What is essential, and also incredibly transforming, is realizing that we have the ability to begin again every single day. That power resides within us. We need to stop judging ourselves and blaming ourselves for what we see as failures in our lives. We can continue to learn and love and move forward by beginning again.