Celebrating Recovery, the Wrong Way

Already flush with optimism and hope from my regular meeting, I headed off to the National Recovery Month Rally looking at the world through rose colored lenses. The day was beautiful, a slight breeze kept everything cool, and many people from local treatment centers and halfway houses had been brought out to enjoy some fresh air, food, music, and a positive recovery message. However it wasn’t long after arrival that I was presented with a stark reminder of why when dealing with the world of addictions one must keep a margin of emotional cushioning.

After making the rounds of greeting those that I have come to know through the substance abuse task force as recovery advocates and specialists in their field, I noticed I had left my camera in the car. Not wanting to miss a shot of the opening ceremony and remarks, I rushed back up the hill to the parking area to retrieve it. Near the park entrance I passed a rather scruffy guy loitering around with a plastic bag containing beer. Acting a little bit furtive about the contents of his bag, I just figured he had surmised what kind of event he had stumbled upon and was quietly making an exit.

I was wrong.

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Returning with my camera I had the wind sucked out of my sails as I saw this guy motioning to one of the attendees down in the park while the rest of the crowd’s attention turned to the speakers. Yep, they were using the break from treatment as an opportunity to relapse. This has to be one of the worst ways I could think of to celebrate recovery {snark}!

I don’t know if the guy with the beer was an enabler or they were both scamming the event for a buzz, it really doesn’t matter and I didn’t waste any more time worrying about it. The picture above is just one I skimmed from the public domain because experience has taught me in these situations it is better just to let those not ready for recovery make their bed. There were plenty of others down in the park below that were serious about recovery, and so I went back down to enjoy the event and the fellowship. I will post a few pictures from the event later this weekend.

I guess the moral of this story is that when dealing with addictions be prepared for disappointment because it is almost always a constant factor… but it does make success, even temporary, that much sweeter.