The purpose of going to an alcohol and drug rehab program is to change habits and behaviors that do not serve you or those around you.  To make change you have to be present.  You cannot change the past nor can you live in the future.  You have to be present.  Sometimes for all of us, regardless if you are experiencing an addiction or not, it is difficult to stay present. 

We drift off to an endless list of "if only" s.  You know what I mean, 'if only I hadn't done this".  "If only I didn't say that".  My life would be so different  if only I had……  You end up being a pupet of the past and your life gets stuck. 

The same thing can happen if you spend all you time dreaming endlessly about better days ahead.  It becomes a sort of "I'll be happy when….." scenario.  I'll be happy when I have a better job.  I'll be happy when my spouse changes.  I'll bbe happy when people trust me again.

 You can change the direction of your future, but you cannot change the future.  You can only change the present.  The tough part is staying present, as the above patterns are just so darn easy to slip into.  The simplest way I have found is still to use the grateful list.  Start to list off things you are grateful for in you life.  The food you have today.  The people you have in your life.  Your arms, your legs, you eyes.  List off the things you are grateful for in your city and country.  List off all the knowledge you have gained.  List off all the wonderful experiences in your life.  When you are really feeling gratitude you are present.  There is no judgement in gratitude.  When you are truly present you can discern life as it is.  This is where change takes place.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 19th, 2007 at 8:22 pm and is filed under Drug Rehab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.