As the month of September slips away, I wish to acknowledge my shared history with others who have embarked upon a recovery journey.
We have much in common. Life has thrown circumstances our way we didn't particularly like or plan for. We see the unfairness of outcomes. We get our backs up over the most insignificant things. We want to control what is quite simply beyond our control.
How we react to a world which promises so much, but delivers so little often feeds frustration, culminating in a desire to escape. That escape can take many forms.
Recreation offers a way to divert our attention from the present, from following a favorite football team, to becoming actively involved in anything from jogging to bicycling. I can speak from personal experience about the runner's high I enjoyed while in my 30s and 40s.
But when you come down from that euphoria, reality is still there to greet you.
Unless you can accept life on life's terms, you are destined to reach a point where the lure of drugs or alcohol is tough to resist. And let's face it. The media is rife with beer bottles raised, promising camaraderie in an increasingly isolating world. It is so easy to get sucked in, then gradua...