Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Many of us can probably recount the details of the "last straw," the turning point, the moment we began the journey on the road to recovery. Up until then all roads, however different, led downhill. For some of us the descent was steep, rough, and swift; for others, long and winding across years of denial, the pain just under the surface.

But today we are on the brink of recovery. Maybe it still looks like the bottom, but now we're looking up. And that's what counts.

Part of looking up involves enthusiasm for life's smaller offerings. We relish the little things we once overlooked: apple-picking with children on an autumn afternoon; planting seedlings in the spring that, come summer, will yield flowers; the joy of going to sleep with a contented heart.

Enthusiasm breathes hope into our resolve to begin a new sober life. Life looks better in sobriety and it will be better. Enthusiasm can be a key.

Today, help me greet my recovery with gratitude for all that has happened and enthusiasm for all that can be.

You are reading from the book:

Body, Mind, and Spirit by Anonymous

Body, Mind, and Spirit © 1990 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden.