Side Effects

The real side effect of a "psychic change" is awe.  When you become willing to work the steps and find a power greater than yourself, you come to see the world in a new way.  The light of optimism shines into the common and ordinary places that many of us took for granted.  It is here, in the rituals of every day life, that we can see the magic of Recovery - the brilliant colors of flowers or the smell of new mown grass the first sober time is riveting.  We have a disease of perception that can be corrected on a daily basis with prayer and meditation.  When I choose Recovery the world takes on a new form and shape.  Sadness and joy, light and dark, assets and deficits co-exist in peaceful harmony no longer struggling to dominate the other.

The ability to live in awe and wonder is a real side effect of Recovery. Like a child I am able to contemplate "the unheard poetry on the hidden side of the round earth, the great thirsts everywhere, the wonderings past wonderings." All because I put down the drink and picked up a spiritual tool-kit, I am able to chase the real spirits I am seeking. Ah...

Personal Journal | Published August 11, 2012