Joyful Recovery Archives

13 02, 2018

Hope, Healing and Happiness in Sobriety

Love and Recovery2020-11-11T15:25:42-08:00February 13th, 2018|Families Recover, Joyful Recovery|0 Comments

It's hard to believe that a family so broken could begin to mend. The mending of old wounds takes time--lots of time. But there is hope. There is something about time and aging that softens our hearts and quiets down the ego. Or maybe it is a combination of time, aging and life in sobriety that allows forgiveness to settle in and compassion to flourish. Family wounds can be deep and hard. And, if we hold onto old stories and "victim" mentalities, there may never be an opportunity to repair and rebuild relationships. Awakening to love. This weekend was filled with so much hope, healing and happiness for me. It was a weekend of awakening to love--how fitting that we are on the cusp of Valentine's Day...nothing goes unnoticed in my conscious mind. This little family of mine is exemplifying love in so many forms that I am overcome with [...]

8 12, 2017

Believe

Love and Recovery2020-11-11T15:25:44-08:00December 8th, 2017|Faith, Holiday, Joyful Recovery|0 Comments

Believe It's the first weekend of December and I am just returning from a blessed trip to New York City. The city is magical in December. The Big Apple most definitely knows how to go big for the holiday season. While in the city my friend and I took in lots of experiences. We came to New York under the guise of attending a personal development seminar. And, really it was just a great excuse to escape the humdrum life of sunny Southern California, almost always 74 degrees and beautiful. The mere thought of New York City gets my blood flowing. It's exciting. It's gritty and alive. It's a myriad of cultures piled high into the towering buildings. It's rich with all the great things this land has to offer as well as humbled by the homelessness that haunted me at every turn. Christmas in the city is brilliant [...]

19 11, 2017

What If The Possibilities are Endless?

Love and Recovery2020-11-11T15:25:45-08:00November 19th, 2017|Early Sobriety, Faith, Fear, Finding Me, Joyful Recovery, Showing Up, Vulnerability in Sobriety|0 Comments

What If? Do you ever get stuck in fear, afraid to make a decision? Do you find yourself full of the what-ifs? What if it doesn’t work out? What if it’s the wrong color? What if I don’t succeed? What if I don’t like it after I buy it? What if I don’t want to go after I purchase the ticket? What if it’s raining that night? What if I don’t like the new people I will work with? I don’t really suffer from the “what if’s” too often. I am decisive, and I generally go with my intuition whether the subject-in-question is big or small. But I do hear a lot of people debating decisions…mulling them over, overthinking, and so on. And that’s their process. It’s just not a process I can deal with. I make decisions and move on. In most cases. ? Dating [...]

17 11, 2017

Joy Peace Sobriety

Love and Recovery2020-11-11T15:25:45-08:00November 17th, 2017|Finding Me, Holiday, Joyful Recovery|0 Comments

What excites you? I was starting to write this little piece, and I was thinking what are the things that really get me giddy with excitement. I think I already used the “excited as a kid at Christmas” analogy. So, I ponder, “What excites me?” About four times per year, I go on a jewelry run for my business, Beach Beauty Bar. There is a gal named Lily who makes the most magnificent baubles you have ever draped around your dainty little neck. Okay, so yes, Lily’s jewelry excites the shit out of me. Lily is like my drug dealer and I am a total junkie. I am jonesing for the goods. Seriously jonesing for the crack that Lily is peddling. We never speak by phone. All communication is done via text message. And, she always tells me to bring my own baggies to transport my [...]

15 11, 2017

Joyful Sobriety

Love and Recovery2020-11-11T15:25:45-08:00November 15th, 2017|Early Sobriety, Faith, Finding Me, Joyful Recovery|0 Comments

I spritzed myself with my favorite perfume on my way out the door this morning. I stopped in at the local surf shot to grab a cup of brew and listen to tales of surfing from the local guys. I absolutely love that I get to stop in at a surf shop. It’s so different yet similar to Arizona where the hunters stop in at the gas station for coffee before heading out for a hunt. I love being a part of the local scene that is so nostalgically Huntington Beach. I savor this feeling that the beach is a part of me now, just like the mountains and pine trees will forever be a part of my heart. I’m sporting a new outfit, and I am feeling good… confident. There’s something about a new outfit that inspires me take a little more time in getting ready. You know, [...]

14 11, 2017

Rituals to Enhance Sobriety

Love and Recovery2020-11-11T15:25:45-08:00November 14th, 2017|Early Sobriety, Joyful Recovery, Recovery Stories|0 Comments

I sashayed down Main Street feeling like Carrie Bradshaw from Sex in the City. Grinning, I looked people in the eye and said hello. I chatted with strangers as they stopped to pet my French bulldog, Stitch, and he was happy to oblige them. I have often compared downtown Huntington Beach to Beaver Cleaver land, where everyone knows you and your dog’s name, and where the neighbors are friendly and chit chat in their front yards about local happenings. It’s more than congenial. It’s jovial. And, tonight on this warm November evening, Stitch and I strolled down to the weekly Tuesday night street fair and farmers market. It’s within walking distance from our house, and it’s always fun to run into friends along the way. Our walks to the street fair are always pleasant, but tonight seemed different. It seemed magical. I felt like I had stepped right onto [...]

9 11, 2017

Flies and Showing Up

Love and Recovery2020-11-11T15:25:46-08:00November 9th, 2017|Finding Me, Joyful Recovery, Showing Up|0 Comments

Since coming out of the "writer's closet," I haven't been sleeping too well. My mind is buzzing with ideas. It's amazing and all, but sometimes it's like a pesky little fly inside my head buzzing and buzzing, and I just want to slap it down! Hmmm...a reference to flies. How funny. I have been battling flies in my life for about six months now. I am being totally serious. Every single day, I find a fly or two in my house, and they drive me absolutely bonkers. OMG! I am seriously having a revelation as I write this. So, I have a little dog named Stitch. He does do his "business" in the back yard on occasion. For the most part, I take him on walks, and he does his business around town, and I am pretty diligent about picking up his stuff, but I still have flies. It [...]

8 11, 2017

Unleashing Me

Love and Recovery2020-11-11T15:25:46-08:00November 8th, 2017|Early Sobriety, Finding Me, Joyful Recovery|0 Comments

I feel wild and free. There is an energy pulsing through my body like I have never known. It's exhilarating. There is excitement in the air. And, I can't help but to smile and shine. Literally, I feel like there is an inner light surrounding my body. I want to dance and sing. My soul is on fire. It is shouting out "Thank you! Thank you for making space. Thank you for tapping in. Thank you for not rejecting me. Thank you for giving life to what we were called here to do. Thank you for listening. Thank you for being brave. Thank you for going deep." I have been unleashed! You know that feeling when you step off a roller coaster? That's what it feels like. You can't stop talking about it. You're energized. You're alive. Seriously, this shit is crazy. And it all started with a journal [...]

5 11, 2017

Coming Out of the Writer’s Closet

Love and Recovery2020-11-11T15:25:46-08:00November 5th, 2017|Early Sobriety, Fear, Finding Me, Joyful Recovery|0 Comments

Pst. Pst. I have a secret. I am feeling all giddy inside. Seriously, I haven't felt like this since I was a kid. Giddy with excitement. Giddy with an I-can't-eat feeling in my stomach. Giddy that I have a secret that I am going to whisper to 1000 Facebook friends. I have lived my life consumed by the fear of what others will think of me, in all aspects. When I graduated college, I got a stale job in my hometown as an insurance adjuster. It didn't sound glamorous or light my fire in any way, but I took it anyway. Why? Well, I wanted to stay in my college town, and it was a professional job. I figured I should just take what I can get and see if I like it. Do you know where "take-what-you-can-get-and-see-if-you-like-it" will lead you? It led me straight to all fours, crawling under [...]

27 10, 2017

Follow Your Heart

Love and Recovery2020-11-11T15:25:46-08:00October 27th, 2017|Faith, Joyful Recovery|0 Comments

It sounds so damn cliche. Just follow your heart and watch what unfolds. Right?I have always been a risk taker. In fact, I pride myself on being able to take big effing risks. I have enjoyed telling people that I just quit my six-figure job to pursue the life I have been dreaming of. I did that in my 30's, and my mantra for the year was "I would rather be poor and happy than rich and miserable." Whoa! Did I really tell myself that for a year? Holy shit! I did. And, guess what? I was broke. I earned $35,000 that year working part time for a law firm in a marketing role. So, here's the deal. When I was earning six figures, I was a sales person and a damn good one at that. I was a smart and efficient sales person. I didn't make too many calls, [...]

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