Inspired by the concept “What You Are Is Where You Were When” by Dr. Morris Massey, it’s incredible to think that when we react to something or someone in our lives today, we are actually reacting to everything that has shaped us up until that very moment that we react. Our early experiences, environments, and relationships form the beliefs, habits, and emotional responses that we carry into our lives, and ultimately, into recovery.

From early feelings of discomfort and anxiety to the patterns that I carried through my alcoholism and then into recovery, I was on conditioned autopilot. Then my sobriety program finally gave me self-awareness. That awareness was introduced when I started practicing the pause. When I stop before I react, I have the opportunity to question old beliefs and behaviors. This gives me the ability to choose differently and break patterns. We are shaped by our past, but we don’t need to be limited by it.

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I used to carry a heavy, constant sadness, feeling like everything was happening to me and believing I was a vicim of misfortune. I spent so much energy trying to manage things outside of my control, while doing very little with what was actually within it. It felt like clenching my fists around nothing, exhausting myself and fixing nothing.

I had an epiphany in a conversation one day, that opened the door to a simpler way of living. I began to learn how to just be, staying present without forcing outcomes, observing without needing to fix, and breaking life down into small, manageable steps. Every day I practice letting go of the need to control things I can’t and finding a more peaceful way to move through life one small step at a time.

Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube.

Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779

Visit my Etsy shop, and join my creative journey at Recovery Upcycling. https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling

#strokerecovery #stroke #vestibularrecovery #recovery #vestibular #disability #soberlife #recoverypodcast

Have you ever wanted something so deeply, and you still had to let it go? “Crying for the moon, but the moon won’t have you” is painful, but it’s not a dead end. There have been an extraordinary number of times in my life when no matter how badly I wanted life to be different, I could not change what was. The death of my high school crush when I was 18, realizing I am an alcoholic, determining I have a permanent disability, and medical retirement are just several devastating seasons of my life.

Longing can turn into resistance, and that resistance deepens suffering. There’s a difference between grieving and living in the past. Intentional grieving has helped me process loss without letting it take over my entire day, or my life for that matter, as it used to. It helps me shift my focus from what’s out of reach to what’s right in front of me. Healing happens when I stop reaching for the moon and start noticing what’s still possible today.

Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube.

Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779

Visit my Etsy shop, and join my creative journey at Recovery Upcycling. https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling

#strokerecovery #stroke #vestibularrecovery #recovery #vestibular #disability #soberlife #recoverypodcast