As I write this post, I reflect on the fact that I’ve been back in Australia for just over a month after my trip to the UK. The trip was an amazing ‘recovery journey’. I visited North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) and Eternal Media in North Wales, BAC O’Connor in England, and ARC Fitness in Northern Ireland. I also went walking in Eryri (Snowdonia, North Wales) with Sober Snowdonia, a group of people in recovery from addiction.
I was amazed by what I saw and heard in each of the recovery communities that I visited. People who have been through so much pain during, and often prior to, their addiction, transformed into happy and inspired people helping others on their journey to recovery. I saw and felt a palpable sense of belonging. I was humbled by the kindness and thoughtfulness that I personally experienced. I knew I was in places that helped transform Pain into Power. And I was reminded of the following quote:
‘I think of the most transformative people I have ever known, every single one of them had personal pain and traumatic experience that was a core element of who they became. And it didn’t crush them… Those people tend to have tremendous empathy for others who are struggling and they tend to have wisdom.’ What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing, Bruce Perry M.D., Ph.D. and Oprah Winfrey
Wulf and I have been posting content about three of these communities—NWRC, Eternal and ARC—in our posts for this Recovery Voices website. However, when I was visiting the UK I realised I wanted to write more about these communities and use it in a book focused on recovery. I’ve actually been writing a book about recovery for some time now, but have struggled in deciding a structure and which content should be included. One of my problems has been that I’ve been ‘running around’ doing too many things. And there’s been too much ‘doing’ and not enough ‘being’.
I’ve therefore decided to take a period away from our Recovery Voices project, so that I can focus more on the recovery book I want to write and spend more time ‘being’. This post will be my last until the beginning of August. This focus on book writing and ‘being’ time is all the more important in that I have a significant birthday coming up in July.
I wish you all well.