Over Memorial Day weekend, I went camping. It's not that unusual as many people camp on this particular holiday, but I'm talking straight up backwoods camping. The kind of camping where you have to pee in the woods and hike 1.5 miles just to get to your campsite. Real camping. Initially I thought we were going to a campground, but boy was I wrong. It turned out to be a good experience as I had some moments of clarity and reflection about recovery while I was hiking one particular trail. I'm not going to post how far or long we hiked on this particular venture into the backwoods of Indiana because it surpassed my dietician's allotment of exercise time, but hey, I'm not perfect either and recovery is a process. While hiking, I couldn't help but think of my last blog post and about taking a new path/the road less traveled. At the beginning, I started out with my two hiking companions, but eventually I walked faster than they could keep up, and I found myself alone hiking on a trail in a forest I had never been to before. I thought how this literal hike and trail I was on was like my journey in recovery. At first, I stumbled over roots and loose rocks on the trail and got ensnared by thorn bushes and ivy. There were times when the path wasn't clear, and I had to pause a moment to find my way...at least what I hoped was the right way because I was alone and had no one to ask. I doubted myself and ventured down several seemingly would-be paths before I felt I found the right way to go. There were times when the path narrowed, and the forest was creeping in on me, but I pressed on. You see the more I kept pushing forward, the more confident I became. I stumbled less often. I was better at picking up the trail when it was unclear which way was the right way to go. I started to notice God's creation around me and the beauty of the streams and trees and the sounds of wildlife. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that maybe the journey of recovery is a lot like hiking. The path might seem daunting at first, and you may stumble/make mistakes along the way. There will be times in recovery where the next right thing to do may not be totally clear...but it's okay. As long as we keep pressing forward and utilize the tools and skills we learn along the way as well as learn to navigate past potential pitfalls, we will eventually make it. Hey we might even learn to enjoy the sights and sounds along our path of recovery...signs of life.
Song of the day: "Road Less Traveled" by Lauren Alaina
