I was asked a question today that made me stop and think for a minute. The question was “What is your Superpower?” In other words, what is that one quality that makes you stand out, be successful, or able to serve others in a BIG way. For me, it was easy.
Resilience. The capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
I say this with conviction as someone who recovers from the disease of Alcoholism on a daily basis. In my journey over the past 12 years, I haven’t met one alcoholic in recovery who isn’t resilient or who doesn’t have the capacity to be resilient in other areas of their lives, because they overcame a battle unlike any other, and continue to keep themselves out of the line of fire every single day by practicing a few simple things.
People don’t really understand the disease of alcoholism. They still believe it's a willpower issue, and the simple solution is to just stop drinking. And while putting the drink down is the first step, the journey it takes to get to that point - that one simple step - is an unbearable one. And it’s one that ends up taking the lives of many. The disease starts in the mind and it ends up controlling and contaminating every part of your being - mind, body and soul. It breeds depression, anxiety, chronic illnesses, cancers, spiritual bankruptcy, mental incapacitation. It brings one to their knees, desperate, hopeless and defeated. And that, my friends, is the most fatal kind of disease there is. Because without hope, one doesn’t stand a chance.
I consider myself chosen. Why some alcoholics make it and some don’t is beyond my level of understandingv. All I know is God wanted me here to overcome my own battle and continue on to serve others in a bigger way. My journey started with AA and expanded well beyond, and as a result, I have grown into a strong, confident and very capable woman with a mission to help others heal. I used to doubt myself every step of the way. I was my own worst enemy. I hid from my pain and fear. I simply could not cope. Alcoholism, as much as it took from my life, was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was the reason I grew to be resilient. It made me who I am today. I honor recovering alcoholics because it is an insidious disease that I know, personally, is one of the hardest diseases to beat. And when you’re deep in it, the thought of getting out is unfathomable. But the fact that I did is nothing short of a miracle.