What does it mean to be a hero in the liminal? Perhaps not what it means to be a hero in the regular world. It may be that there is an inversion at play — that to survive the underworld, we need to embody the opposing qualities of our old culture. Humility over control. Surrender and acceptance over striving and efforting. This does not mean

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Recovery as spiritual journey:

First you desperately seek an object to bring you happiness, then, after many face plants, you realize no object can do that, so you stop running and finally face what is, where healing and recovery begin, but then, confronted by your naked wounds without your familiar escape hatch, that too becomes a chase, a far... See more

It’s common for addicts to realize that it’s addiction all the way down. While some of us have had more “extreme” addictions, all of us have been captured by a recurring false possibility that a certain solution will ease our pain, only to make our problems and pain worse.

It’s baffling how susceptible we are to this progressive,... See more

Fear is the answer. I think, at the bottom, I was afraid to get sober. I was afraid that I couldn’t do it, I was afraid that I couldn’t cope with life’s challenges, afraid that I wouldn’t have a safe refuge to hide from the world, that I wouldn’t be able to stay sober and afraid that I really just couldn’t manage to live without drinking.