thepurposeofrecovery.org
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Blog
    • News
  • Recovery Support
    • Peer Support
    • Family Support
    • Peer Testimonials
  • Donate
  • Contact Us!
  • 2023 Rally Registration
  • Calendar

THE GRATEFUL DEED

11/25/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
I write this as we celebrate another special holiday. Thanksgiving. It is indeed a grateful deed.

Though we should give thanks for many things each day, we single out this day to express gratitude. It is a time of family, fellowship, food, and fun—as it should be.

For those of us in active and sustained recovery it is a special day to give thanks. Family dynamics may differ, cultures play a role, but at the core is thankfulness and gratitude with family and friends.  Those who experience the fellowship of AA recognize that the two most favored subjects for meeting discussion are gratitude and acceptance. My activity in mindfulness always includes both. At this point, I will add a bit of humor. Discussing politics at a family gathering can result in saving money on Christmas gifts. Considering inflation, it could benefit.

The pandemic changed this holiday event in so many ways. Gratitude was limited to thoughts of survival and “I don’t have it—yet”. However, we could come together virtually and maybe be more forthcoming and open with feelings. No masks to show frowns and hide smiles. We talk of turkey, gravy, dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Seldom is it said: “and alcohol”. Alcohol is legal, cheap, available, and acts as intended and more.  We do know that alcohol causes more family turmoil, distress, and death than the other drugs.  Alcohol kills slower, but Fentanyl has now entered the picture which is quickly deadly, and family gatherings need to share this information. Addicts must take risks to avoid “dope sickness.” There can be controversy but if balanced with care and concern for each other, there can be help, hope, and healing where needed. All were present as my brother, brother-in-law, and I accumulated over 100 years of sobriety.  

I am grateful and accept the science of addiction. It explains the why of “why doesn’t he/she just quit.”

To know and understand the role of the brain in alcohol and other drug use is vital to living life with health and well-being. Naloxone (Narcan) is defined as an opioid antagonist and defies death from overdose.  I am grateful and accept the knowledge of the many paths to, of, and in recovery from substance use disorders. I am grateful and accept the knowledge of the elements of harm reduction and medically assisted recovery.  Both are a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use.  Just as the many paths to and of recovery do, it broadens the spectrum of chance, choice, and change and serves persons and families. In early recovery, the first steps are investigation and contemplation. Now there is more to contemplate.  Another word to contemplate is one I just learned--
gradualism. The goal can be abstinence but a commitment to a process and toward progress should prevail.

William White has written countless papers over the years. A most recent one is titled 
On the Shoulders of Giants, which honors the addiction treatment and recovery advocacy pioneers and profiles 35 people upon whose shoulders the infrastructure of our field stands. Among names I recognize are Bill Wilson, Jimmy Kinnon, and Jean Kilpatrick, founders of AA, NA, and Women in Sobriety, respectively. There are the more recent prominent pioneers such as Lillian Roth, 1910-1980, and Jason Robards, 1922-2000, who Bill says,
Challenged prevailing stereotypes about addiction and addiction recovery through public disclosure of their own recovery stories.
Names I learned early on were the policy advocates who politically nurtured the birth and evolution of modern addiction understanding (e.g., Marty Mann, 1904-1980, Senator Harold Hughes, 1922-1996, Senator Paul Wellstone, 1944-2002). I met Senator Wellstone and Betty Ford. I have maintained connections and associations “Beyond Betty” over the years. They include the Betty Ford Center, Hazelden, and the Children’s program. Bill White, whose shoulders I have perched on, said with gratitude to the many of those,
Who stretched my mind, mentored my work, and showed me by their example how to conduct one’s life in this unique service ministry.
I am personally grateful and so should the millions in active and sustained recovery be what for may be termed the grateful deeds of the pioneers and present advocates in the recovery movement.  
 

There is no vaccine for addiction. However, choosing a path to recovery and choosing to be vaccinated for COVID both lead to health, well-being, and peace of mind. Both serve the person, family, and community.

November is gratitude month and as it ends, we look forward to the next holidays. Though some don’t do deities, there is a Christ in Christmas. It is a time of caring and sharing. As I once read and wrote, before the sermon on the mount, Jesus was reported to have said;
If you don’t believe in me, believe in what I teach.
One of those teachings called for us to love one another.  Happy Holidays, from The Purpose of Recovery Team.
​

Merlyn Karst — Recovery Ambassador
0 Comments

IN OTHERS’ WORDS

8/31/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
September is National Recovery Month, begun in 1989 under the name of Treatment Works! 

​Now in its 32
nd year, the theme is RECOVERY IS FOR EVERYONE: Every Person, Every Family, Every Community. 

Each year we take the opportunity to celebrate the millions of Americans who are in recovery from mental and substance use disorders. Formally the province of SAMSHA, National Recovery Month is under the auspices of Faces and Voices of Recovery. Faces and Voices will be heard and seen across the Globe in Celebration of the Reality of Recovery in all its forms. California kicks it off from the Capitol steps on September 1st. Our new RCO, and first in Orange County, The Purpose of Recovery, will be there.

​
The following is a brief review of some origins and history of the Recovery Movement. In this, I include the names and words of others’ whose passion and purpose gave birth to a campaign to put a face and a voice on recovery. I learned from the words of William Cope Moyers that he and Jeff Blodgett met with leadership of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and presented an idea to build connections through building alliances.  Its Leadership Forum recognized the worth and wisdom to generously fund and launch the Alliance Project.  More than two years’ work was done by the Alliance Project and its affiliated sponsors. They provided focus and channels for a growing advocacy force among individuals recovered from addiction, their families, and allies. I was privileged to be a part of an Alliance Project conference with plots and plans. I first met White Bison’s Don Coyhis there and learned the lesson of connection and unity from his ball of yarn. There were focus groups and a national survey by Peter Hart & Associates called the Face of Recovery. The Paul Samuels Legal Action Center offered to assist with the issues of stigma and discrimination. Johnny Allem, who had headed The Society of Americans in Recovery, (SOAR), contributed much. All activities set the stage for the 2001 Recovery Summit and incubation of what has become The New Recovery Advocacy Movement. (NRAM). 

In October 2001, at the invitation of RWJF and with support of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), nearly 200 of us assembled in St. Paul, Minnesota. The assembly was called The Faces and Voices of Recovery Summit. It met with 3 goals to be considered:
​

1. To celebrate and honor recovery in all its diversity

2. To foster advocacy skills in the tradition of American advocacy movements

3. To produce principles, language, strategy, and leadership to carry the movement forward.
​

An important consideration was the need for Unity of Action and Purpose by all recovered people – regardless of recovery path and inclusive of every path – and was regarded as essential to success. Impact on the American public is directly related to unity of message within the recovery community. Carol McDaid, who followed me as Board Chair of Faces and Voices of Recovery, reflecting on the Summit said,
Looking back, I think we took unity for granted. History is clear. We have never gotten anywhere without unity of purpose. It is my sense that some of that unity has been lost along the way… It is certainly not too late to focus efforts on unity and I think it is vital that we do so.… when we fail to do that, we are not taken seriously and all the resources that could save lives and build recovery community flow elsewhere.
William Moyers, in an interview said, 
I think we have missed an opportunity to grow the movement through more philanthropy
I believe our prospects have improved greatly with the growing number of Recovery Community Organizations (RCOs) and the obvious economic and social impact on persons, families, and communities. 
​

 I agree with William White who said,
There was electricity in the air from the moment we gathered, and I distinctly remember thinking at one point that what we were doing could mark a new chapter in the history of addiction recovery—a line in time between that in the future would demarcate ‘before’ and ‘after’.  You see, many of us knew of each other but we had never gathered as recovery advocates. The energy generated by finally placing so many of us in one place was amazing. That energy and its resulting shared vision is what I most remember…there was a calling for us to move beyond clinical models of care to models of community organization and cultural revitalization. All these influences stirred within the pot of the 2001 Recovery Summit. And we also knew we were there to accept a torch passed to us from recovery advocates of earlier decades.
I found the words of others’ fascinating, enlightening, and worth attention.   I recall spending time with Susan Rook and credit her with the words “By Our Silence, We Let Others Define Us”. Senator Paul Wellstone was our keynote speaker and said, ​
This is the beginning of a civil rights movement.
The analogy to rights movements through America’s history rang throughout the three-day meeting. Jim Ramstad, our legislative champion, was present. It was a magical three days as afterwards we set out to make some history. Fact is it almost didn’t happen. Turbulent times.
As the last day came to an end, William Moyers said, ​
I realized we had pulled it off, we had conducted the summit in between the 911 attacks and the start of war. It was in the nick of time, and we managed to get it done. We are STILL HERE!
 Faces & Voices of Recovery was born and will celebrate its 20-year anniversary in October in St Paul.  William White quoted author and Pulitzer winner,  Barbara Tuchman as saying,
The most difficult task of the historian is to capture the contextual roots and cultural significance of vibrant social movements while they are “still smoking”.
An interesting statement, given the events of the last few years.   

We are soldiering and smoldering on and fanning the flame of the reality of Recovery. We stand up, standout, speak out, and are proud about it.

​Find the Joy—and celebrate.

Merlyn Karst —Recovery Advocate

The prime source for quoted interviews is found at https://recoveryreview.blog/
0 Comments

THE WONDER OF WORDS

5/3/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Factoid: The old children’s proverb “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” was used as early as 1862 to refrain people from engaging in verbal bullying. Over time and with experience, we gained a new perspective. I found a poem that perhaps is an indication of reality,
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can also hurt me and sticks break only skin, while words are ghosts that haunt me.  Slant and curved the word-swords fall, it pierces and sticks inside me. Bats and bricks may ache through bones, but words can mortify me. Pain from words has left its scar, on mind and heart that’s tender. Cuts and bruises have not healed, it’s words that I remember.
​– 
Ruby Redfort
Now, bullying depends on it. A multitude in the population depends on it. Some words have worn out their worthiness and are worthless.

William White wrote,
For more than two centuries, Addicted and recovering people in America have been the object of language created by others. People experiencing severe and persistent alcohol and other drug problems inherited a language not of their own making that has been ill suited to accurately portray their experience to others or to serve as a personal catalyst for personal change. The wrong words stigmatize and dis-empower.  In 2001, in St Paul, Minnesota, the group assembled learned that by our silence we let others define us. We gave birth to Faces and Voices of Recovery.  Understanding the sound of silence led us to the making of our language and it’s resounding and growing joyful noise about the reality of recovery.
Orange County California’s The Purpose of Recovery organization, TPOR, is offering a series of informative learning experiences through virtual presentations. We have done The Science of Addiction and Recovery and a most recent one was on Recovery Messaging. William White wrote, ​
Many of us have carried a message of hope on a one-to-one basis. This new recovery movement calls upon us to carry that message of hope to whole communities and the whole culture. It is time we stepped forward. Shape this history with our stories, our time and our talents. ​
Across the board all the moms and dads mention one golden rule of Inuit parenting. Never yell at a child.
Our movement can’t be successful when led solely by those impacted by addiction and accompanying injustice.  We need to share our message and inspire allies and others to come join us in the new recovery movement.  The learning opportunities in the Recovery Messaging are the result of years of study, revision, feedback, and evaluation of retention and useful purpose. Among the slides is the information that choosing the language of recovery is key. It is followed by examples titled “Say this, not that.” Examples of current language, alternatives, and reasons. I have focused on a few words. The latest is relapse. I prefer and promote set-back. It leads to a mindful slogan. Get back, on track, and don’t look back. Labels have a sticky side for a reason. stigmatizing labels like “addict” and “alcoholic” stick when identity as a “person in recovery” is positive and appropriate when recognizing substance use disorder. 

With others from TPOR, I completed a 10-week CRAFT course, Community Reinforcement and Family Training. It teaches family and friends effective strategies for helping their loved ones to change and seeking to better themselves.  Of course, words were involved—words and the nature of response. What to say and when might promote a change of behavior remembering, it’s a process not an event. Use reflection with positive reinforcement and patience and take pride in small changes. I learned of a counselor who suggested 80% listening with reflective and positive attention and 20% “I” centered response, I feel, I see, I hear, to promote understanding and trust. I do not have family issues but as a peer recovery coach, it adds greatly to TPOR and my tool kit.  
​ 

I read an article about a book titled Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michaelean Doucleff. She visited and wrote about visiting and embedding with families in small villages in Mexico, Alaska, and Tanzania She observed parenting by the moms and dads in the villages. What caught my attention is her statement, ​
The children’s conduct and behavior was very good. Say what? Doesn’t yelling put more power in words no matter whether addressing a child or adult? In the context of this writing, the words we use to encourage behavioral change should not need volume to communicate. Too many decibels are numbing and dumbing. I like the expression, “He drives words with a velvet hammer.” The voice I hear and the words I hear are mine. I pay attention. 

Don Coyhis is President and co-founder of 
White Bison, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Don is the founder of the Wellbriety movement The book Red Road to Wellbriety is a book of healing that is culture-specific to Native Americans, but it may be used by all people. He and William White have written many words together about addiction and recovery in Native Americans with cultural considerations and challenging the “firewater myth” among them.  I love the words I read.
​

Native purification and healing practices (sacred dances, the sweat lodge, and talking circles). Such elements as teaching metaphors (e.g., the medicine wheel), symbols (e.g., the sacred pipe, eagle feathers), rituals (e.g., sweat lodge, smudging ceremonies. These words say healing to me. Don Coyhis wrote,
Words are important. If you want to care for something, you call it a flower. If you want to kill something you call it a weed. A word to the wise, use words wisely.
Merlyn Karst — Recovery Ambassador
0 Comments

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020

    Categories

    All
    2001 Recovery Summit
    AA
    Abstinence
    Addiction Recovery
    Addictions
    Advocacy
    Advocacy Leadership
    Advocates For Recovery Colorado
    Advocates For Recovery - Colorado
    Alcohol
    Alcohol Action Network
    Alcohol Awareness Month
    Alcohol Use Disorder
    Alliance Project
    America Honors Recovery Awards
    A New PATH - California RCO
    ARCO
    Association Of Recovery Community Organizations
    Author
    Berry Ford Children's Program - Denver
    Betty Ford
    Betty Ford Center
    Biden-Harris Administration
    Bill Stauffer
    Bill White
    Bill White - FAVOR
    Bill Wilson
    Billy O'Connell
    Building Communities Of Recovery Program
    Bullying
    Buprenorphine
    CA
    California Peace Coalition
    California's First Recovery Community Organization
    California's Gold
    Calrecovery
    Carol McDaid - FAVOR
    CCAPP
    Center For Substance Abuse Treatment
    Center Of Hope
    Colorado
    Consequences
    Costa Mesa
    COVID
    COVID-19
    CRAFT - Community Reinforcement & Family Training
    (CSAT)
    Denver
    Denver Drug Strategy Commissioner
    Depression
    Director Of NIDA
    Discovery Month
    Dis-empower
    Domestic Abuse
    Don Coyhis
    Dr. Stephen Delisi
    Drug Addiction
    DUI's
    Dust Bowl
    Education
    Election & Politics
    Embark/Peer Coach Academy - Colorado
    Faces And Voices Of Recovery
    Families And Communities
    Family Peer Support
    Family Recovering Journey
    Family Support
    FAVOR
    Fentanyl
    Flo Hillard - FAVOR
    Flo Hillard - FAVOR
    Forgiveness
    Franklin Roosevelt
    Gather
    Give Thanks
    G.P.S. - Guided Peer Support
    Great Depression
    Harm Reduction
    Hazelden
    Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
    HHS Overdose Prevention Strategy
    Homelessness
    Hope
    Hope & Healing
    Hope & Solutions
    Huell Howser
    Hunt
    Jason Robards
    Jay Davidson
    Jean Kilpatrick
    Jeff Blodgett
    Jimmy Kinnon
    Johnny Allem - The Society Of Americans In Recovery
    John Steinbeck
    Language
    LA Times
    LGBT Community
    Liliian Roth
    Lisa Mojer-Torres
    Lived Experience
    Long-Term Recovery
    Many Paths To Recovery
    Marty Mann
    M.D. - NIDA
    Medical Director Of Professional Education Solutions
    Medically Assisted Recovery
    Medically Assisted Treatment
    Medication Assisted Recovery
    Mental Illness
    Methadone
    Mindfulness
    Mindfulness Based Relapse Prevention
    Mind Over Matter
    Minnesota
    Mitch Cherness
    Naloxone (Narcan)
    Naltrexone
    Nancy Clark's Alternative Sentencing Program
    National Recovery Month
    National Recovery Movement
    Natural Recovery
    NCADD
    Nicotine
    NIDA - National Institute Of Drug Abuse
    Nora Volkow
    Nora-volkow-md-nida
    (NRAM)
    Orange County
    Orange County Collaboration
    Oxford House
    Oxford House Model
    Pandemic & Politics
    Parent By Michaelean Doucleff
    Parenting
    Patients & Communities Act
    Paul Malloy
    Paul Samuels - Legal Action Center
    Peer Coach
    Peer Coach Academy - Colorado
    Peer Coaching Overview
    Peer Coach Training
    Peer Recovery
    Peer Recovery Coach
    Peer Support
    Peer Supported Services & Training
    Person First Language Reduces Stigma
    Pete Neilson
    Peter Hart & Associates - Face Of Recovery
    Phil Rutherford
    RCO Recovery Community Organization
    RCO - Recovery Community Organization
    Reality Of Recovery
    Recovery
    Recovery Advocacy
    Recovery Advocacy Movement
    Recovery Advocate Of The Year
    Recovery Bolder Express
    Recovery Capital
    Recovery Centers
    Recovery Community Organization
    Recovery Connection Rally
    Recovery From Addiction
    Recovery From Mental And Substance Use Disorders
    Recovery Happens
    Recovery Is For Everyone
    Recovery Journey
    Recovery Messaging
    Recovery Month
    Recovery Movement
    Recovery-Oriented Methadone Maintenance
    Recovery Rally
    Recovery Residences
    Recovery Road
    Recovery Summit
    Recovery Support
    Recovery Support Services
    Rick Steves
    Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
    RWJF
    Salvation Army Complex
    SAMHSA
    Science Of Addiction
    Self-Guided Change
    Senator Harold Hughes
    Senator Paul Wellstone
    (SOAR)
    Sober Living
    Sobriety
    Soledad Ursula
    Stigmatize
    St. Paul
    Substance Use Disorder
    Suicide
    Susan Rook
    Sustained Recovery
    The Children's Program
    The Faces And Voices Recovery Summit
    The Healing Place
    The New Recovery Advocacy Movement
    The Phoenix
    The Phoenix Multi Sports
    The Phoenix - Orange County
    The Phoenix - San Diego County
    The Purpose Of Recovery
    The Science Of Addiction & Recovery
    The Shoulders Of Giants
    Three Wise Men
    Times OC
    Travels In Europe
    Unity Of Action And Purpose
    Walter Ginter
    Well-Being
    Wellbriety Movement - Don Coyhis
    White Bison
    White Bison's Don Coyhis
    William Cope Moyers
    William White
    William White Papers
    Willpower
    Wonder Of Words
    Young People In Recovery

    RSS Feed

Picture
131 N. Tustin Ave., Suite 100, Tustin, CA 92780
Hours: 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday

​714.485.3772
info@tpor.org
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Blog
    • News
  • Recovery Support
    • Peer Support
    • Family Support
    • Peer Testimonials
  • Donate
  • Contact Us!
  • 2023 Rally Registration
  • Calendar