WEEKLY MEDITATION
Moments of guilt, moments of contrition, moments when we are lacking in self-esteem, moments when we are bearing the trial of being displeasing to ourselves, are essential to our growth.
-M. Scott Peck
It is very important to keep in mind that a life in recovery from addiction is not one of perfection. Very often, addictive behaviors represent an unconscious attempt to control the natural undulations of self-esteem and feelings of confidence. Successful recovery, then, will require that we develop the ability to flow through the inevitable moments, hours, and even days where we are not feeling balanced within and about ourselves. It is important to develop and allow these feelings not only because they are inevitable and it would therefore be futile to resist them, but also because they are very useful. A life without moments of indecision, guilt, and confusion would be a life without growth. There is no way to find emotional growth without these feelings. It is often a negative sense of self that propels and motivates us to make changes. Then, after some changes have been implemented, we will have to experience more feelings of dis-ease as we navigate through uncharted emotional territory as these unfamiliar patterns become familiar. There is no way to create a life without these moments of doubt. To embrace them is the only way to become emotionally sturdy enough not to need the false sense of relief that our addictions produced for us.
