road OF recovery

there seems to be this common terminology in recovery of being on a path, or any other myriad of metaphors referring to some need to travel; a trail, uphill, slope, climb, journey, trek and the most common being the road to recovery. i immediately was able to relate to this as it helped to give me a perspective of that it was going to be something that could only be accomplished by no small feat of endurance and commitment. It helped me see that recovery was more than just following a few 'steps' and ive made it. 

but there was just something about the word "to" in the road to recovery that kept bugging me...

'to' made it seem like it was some magical kingdom over the hill and through the woods in a galaxy far far away where i would finally find this fabled land called recovery and once there i could rest and relax from my worries for in that land i would finally be cured of my addiction.

erroneous on all accounts. 

recovery isnt some final destination you reach at the end of your journey. thats heaven. recovery is the journey.

its the road of recovery, that we travel. for as you travel on this road, you are in recovery. each step, each effort, each commitment, everything you do to overcome this addiction, is one more step youre taking on the road of recovery.

the reason why this idea of being on the road of recovery had such an impact on me, is that it helped me realize that not only can i be in recovery right now, but that i can always be in recovery.

when i hear people mention years of sobriety and whatnot, and if i let myself think of recovery as some final destination, it feels a lot like i can't relate to that because theyre in that galaxy far far away... but as i walk the road of recovery, i don't have to worry about the years, or even the months, or even the weeks, or even the days of sobriety. Those will come on their own. i also realized that those with years of sobriety are still walking this same road right there with me.

being on the road of recovery allows me to focus on the now. I can be in recovery this very moment. and in this moment im in control and i can prepare myself so that my next step is still on the road of recovery. and thats all i need to worry about, is my next step, and preparing myself so that its still on the road of recovery.

i think of the old financial advice "watch your pennies, and your dollars will take care of themselves". as i focus on being in recovery this minute, this hour, my days and eventually months and years will all take care of themselves.

keep hiking along this road of recovery and you can be in recovery always.