Remembering Who You Really Are
Years ago, I came across a definition of recovery that stopped me in my tracks:
Recovery is remembering who you really are and using your strengths to become all that you were meant to be.
The reason it stayed with me is that it reframed the entire idea of healing.
It suggested that we are not broken people trying to become whole.
It suggested that who we are is still there.
Waiting.
Over the years, I've noticed something interesting.
When people begin finding their footing again, they often return to things they once loved.
They start writing.
Painting.
Playing music.
Gardening.
Dreaming.
Creating.
The very things that had quietly disappeared begin to reappear.
From the outside, it can look like transformation.
From the inside, it often feels more like recognition.
Less becoming someone new.
More remembering someone familiar.
A return to yourself.
The older I get, the more I wonder if many of life's turning points are less about changing who we are and more about uncovering what was there all along.
