The term "recovery" has been used to name the many ways we try to regain control of our lives. Recovery programs are human inventions that both accuse you and guide you into new realities.
You can recover from alcohol, drug abuse or spouse or partner of someone who suffers from addition. You can recover from eating too much or eating too little. You can recover from your anger or your depression
Recovery may be someone else's invention, but it does not begin until you decide it is needed because admission is the beginning of conversion.
Without you, recovery is just a program. It is your determination that makes recovery a reality.
Recovery from gender socialization is not known. In the general population, it's unpopular. It has been called by many names and has always been one of the greatest cultural challenges facing women and men. Most women are afraid of it and most men are threatened by it. However, without mutual recovery, they will both live in separate worlds.
Our pilgrimage toward equality and multi-cultural harmony are made possible when you decide that re-socialization is a recovery and you will not live without it.
When that happens, your life will be new and the world will be closer to its ultimate purpose: Peace!
Kiss Your Life... 365 Reasons to Love Who You Are
By: Ann Mody Lewis, Ph.D.
Reason: 7 Page: 25
Commentary:
“I think a spiritual journey is not so much a journey of discovery. It's a journey of recovery. It's a journey of uncovering your own inner nature…that’s already there.”
Billy Corgan
Rescuing our inner nature from damage that was done when we didn’t know how to protect ourselves is a crucial part of our recovery. Too many of us go through life with only a vague sense of who we are. We question our rights, uniqueness and use of power because so many factors compromise our ‘self-opinion.’ Parents, schools, churches, and government carry cultural expectations about manhood and womanhood that are unavoidable, but not irreversible.
The stress of becoming what others expect us to be can drive us into addiction and depression. When YOU decide that your life belongs to you first, your recovery will begin! You name your recovery and the bountiful new life you discover because of it. Recovery is a humbling experience because it forces us to face ourselves honestly. Recovery must:
- Be your idea
- Address all aspects of your life
- Be supported by your peers who know your struggles
- Be strengthened by relationships
- Consider cultural-based influences
- Involve individuals and family
- Teach you to respect your life
- Be hopeful!
Kahlil Gibran writes about recovery so beautifully:
“When you crush an apple with your teeth
Say to it in your heart,
Your seeds shall live in my body
And the buds of tomorrow shall blossom in my heart
And your fragrance shall be my breath,
And together we shall
Rejoice through all seasons,”
Recovery, vague though it may seem, is the story-of-everyone who is wise enough to treasure the past as they move into their future...this is the composition of maturity!
We will begin 2017 by discussing various recoveries, only to realize how they are all connect to culture.
Topic to be discussed: Why are men more prone to addiction than women? What are the most devastating effects of addiction on men and women? How do we face-down the shame addiction creates? Why addiction should ‘make-us-proud.’ What do all addictions have in common?
Let’s talk
Ann
