WEEKLY MEDITATION
I must be willing to give up what I am in order to become what I will be.
-Albert Einstein
The process of recovery is necessarily one of change. If people were simply attracted to what is healthy and best for them, there would be no addiction. We would always make changes that would benefit us without hard work. But we are ultimately attracted to that which is familiar even if we consciously want to make changes. Often, the problem is not deciding in which direction we want to move, but in letting go of the place we are. There is a reason that we end up becoming addicted to anything, be it a substance or a behavior, and to make the changes necessary to live comfortably without the addiction often means making changes in our lives that can seem drastic and unnecessary. Sometimes we will have to step away from certain friendships. We may decide to end longstanding romantic relationships. We may decide to eat differently, or live within a recovering community for a time. But the bottom line is that we cannot avoid facing the temporary discomfort of having to let go of parts of who we are so that we can become the version of ourselves that is no longer addicted.
