5 Important Reasons to "Keep Coming Back" to CR, Even When We Don't Need To
It’s not about ME! Put another way, we show up to these meetings because we’re building a community of support. But when we feel the temptation to not show up, it’s easy to forget the bigger picture.
So why go to CR on Friday, even when your recovery doesn’t depend on it? It’s pretty simple: recovery is about so much more than not picking up a drink or engaging in your personal, hurt, habit or hangup. Don't underestimate what you can learn about yourself. Don’t underestimate just how powerful your presence at a CR meeting can be for another person’s recovery. The next time you’re thinking about missing out on a meeting, consider these four reasons why showing up still matters.
1. Someone might need your presence or your story. No one is judged at CR. We are all vulnerable and imperfect, but with an ability to help others. Why am I here at CR? Because God has created each person to minister to others from their own unique experiences and pain. You might be the one familiar face in the room that reminds someone that they’re in the right place. Something that you share might be exactly what someone else needs to hear. You never know what your presence is bringing to the table — and how valuable it might be to someone else. We all have a purpose and values. Recovering and or finding them is what life is about.
2. CR meetings can only thrive if everyone commits to showing up. Think about it: If we only showed up when we were feeling terrible, what would meetings look like? They’d be pretty dismal places. There’d be experiences to share — but where would be the strength and hope? Where is the victory?
3. Sobriety is an ongoing practice — not a destination. Without a consistent practice — in which we repeatedly confront, accept, and reflect on our condition, while building up the coping skills needed to manage our lives — it’s all too easy to return to our old ways. Sobriety is not necessarily abstinence: Sobriety refers to not being intoxicated or, in its broad sense, taking a serious approach to life. Sobriety is not a point at which you arrive. Personal growth is a direction we move in — not a finish line we cross. Think of a fellowship, then, as your compass, your GPS, helping to direct that growth.
4. Joy is an incredible contribution. I may not feel motivated on a given day to show up to a meeting. But when I can’t show up for myself, I do it for my community. So when I’m especially happy on any given day, I make an extra effort to show up to meetings. I let my smile and my personal share, signal to others that there is joy in sobriety. I let my laugh remind newcomers that there are better days ahead, there is hope and victory.
5. "No man is free until he masters himself." Epictetus CR should be a bridge to better understanding yourself, leading a normal life. The main navigational tools in life are values and purpose. People overcome hurts, hangups and habits, out of purpose-based motivation (based on values) -- they better themselves when they recognize how their habits, violate who they were, what they want to be, where they want to go in life. The real question is, where do we get your values and purpose in life? When values and purpose trump an addiction, there is no addiction.
In order to understand ourselves, our hurts, hangups and habits, one needs to understand human psychology. What we think and what we feel, are distinct drivers of our behavior. Epictetus noted some 2000 years ago that “it isn’t our circumstances, but our view of them, which creates our miseries." Think about this for a moment. You can't get addicted to a substance or a behavior, that you have not learned does something for you. What is that, "something?" Why do we behave the way we do? What is the root cause of our actions? Why do specific circumstances in life, that are very important to us, make us feel overwhelmed, helpless, trapped, powerless and lacking control? How do we regain control? Pastor Rick Warren: "Anytime you see people messing up their lives, you can be sure that it did not start with their actions: it started with their thoughts. The way you think determines how you feel and affects how you act. If you want to change something in your life or break a bad habit, then figure out what caused you to do the thing you want to change." Jesus taught, "Come toMe, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Jesus taught that we receive by giving. We acquire by surrendering. We live by dying.
Values and purpose are the main navigational tools in life. Perhaps we could all be more like Jesus, in character, conversion and conduct? Now wouldn't that be a valuable purpose to share?
If you are not completely satisfied with your life, come to Celebrate Recovery. Celebrate Recovery is the best place to be on a Friday night!