WEEKLY MEDITATION
You alone can do it, but you can’t do it alone.
-O. Hobart Mowrer
It is up to each recovering person to take sole responsibility for the direction of their life—and, of course, for their recovery. This does not mean that we should ever try to be free of influence, support, and community, only that we must learn to be the director of our recovery path. We should, in fact, know when it’s helpful to allow others to influence our decision-making process during times when strong emotional reactions may be clouding our ability to see and act clearly. During these times, the appropriate use of a therapist, confidant, mentor, or sponsor can be an excellent tool to help provide clearer direction than we may be able to provide ourselves without counsel. And, most importantly, we need healthy emotional connection to a community of other people to develop a healthy emotional connection to ourselves. At their core, our addictions stood to mask feelings of disconnection and emotional isolation, filling in for a genuine sense of self-love that only comes when we take our rightful place among others to whom we feel we belong. But nothing can take over for the need for us to take responsibility for the direction of our own recovery, and our core need to be in healthy connection to others.
