The concept of recovery has long been associated with a person's return to full functioning following a period of impaired or reduced functioning as a result of loss, physical and/or mental health issues, or traumatic events. Full, sustained recovey can only be achieved when the person seeking recovery recognizes and accepts the inevitability of human fallibility, and necessitiates that those seeking recovery learn from their many mistakes and problems, and those of others, and applies what they learn to future thinking processes and decisions. Recovery is a lot about forgiveness and acceptance of yourself and others.
Recovery is not just for individuals. Families and groups of people with close personal relationships can experience recovery as a group just as they can experience the influence that create the need for recovery as a group. Sometimes recovery can co-occur with individuals and their families; other times, a family can recover though an individual within the family may not, or vise versa. The same applies for unrelated groups of people including co-workers, peer groups, extended family, etc.
Regardless of your belief in a deity, the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Nieburh communicates much about the fundamentals of recovery. The first stanza is the most widely publicized and is used by many, including those who are part of the twelve step fellowship(Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, etc.) as a guidepost in their recovery processes. However, the entire prayer offers helpful guidance.
THE SERENITY PRAYER
God grant me the serentiy
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
- Reinhold Niebuhr
Note the call to action in the first stanza about things that can be changed, problems that can be solved. Note the nod towards acceptance of things that cannot be changed. Consider the words "serenity", "accept", "courage", and "wisdom".
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