Responsibility is often overlooked when it comes to treating alcoholism and addiction. Jaywalker Lodge understands that freedom is proportional to the responsibility we accept for our lives. And freedom is what recovery is all about — freedom from alcoholism and addiction, freedom from our grosser handicaps, and freedom to live a life of happiness, joy, and purpose. Freedom is everything in recovery, but freedom only grows if the responsibility we’re willing to shoulder grows.
Far too often, the very concept of responsibility has a hard time sticking in our world. Not only is responsibility often disdained by alcoholics and addicts like us, but most of the people in our lives (sometimes including those who wish to help us) are unwilling to trust us with responsibility. We have to admit this is fair, given that in our disease we are very seldom responsible for much else besides pain and destruction. Through the 12-Step process, we learn how to truly take responsibility for ourselves and our lives, which is one of the major turning points in recovery. We also learn how to be responsible. This is a natural byproduct of the 12-Step process.
Everyone Deserves This Gift
Jaywalker Lodge believes that like freedom itself, responsibility is a gift. And it’s a gift that everyone deserves, just like recovery. What makes responsibility integral to the treatment of alcoholism and addiction is a complex system of positive feedback loops. When the value of responsibility is clearly displayed, and the rewards are made personal and attainable, the road to freedom begins to open up. When those of us who suffer from alcoholism and addiction are given responsibility, we learn the value of it. When we are trusted, we become trustworthy. When we are relied upon, we become reliable.
What does this do for recovery treatment? At its simplest, it begins a cycle of positive momentum — at its most complex, it begins to transform an individual. Jaywalker Lodge believes so much in the power of responsibility to positively affect those recovering from alcoholism and addiction that we incorporate it into the core of our methodologies. Responsibility is a part of daily life at Jaywalker Lodge, and we have seen firsthand what it does for our men.
Opportunities to Practice Responsibility
On a daily basis, we expose our men to opportunities to take responsibility and succeed. From the simplest acts to the big ones, it’s all valuable practice. Making our bed every morning may sound simplistic, but it’s a foundational act of self-care that ties us to the place we occupy. If we learn to properly care for the place we live, that’s one giant step toward taking better care of ourselves and others. What seems like the mere folding of sheets becomes the way we learn to properly take care of our lives and our loved ones. A similar thing takes place with cooking and cleaning. Occupying a communal space and being responsible for our part in it becomes the way we learn to be one among many: a worker among workers, a friend among friends, and a contributing human being who is self-supporting.
It becomes easy to see the value of responsibility when we begin to make these connections. Being responsible for the smallest parts of our lives is not only great practice, but it’s the only way we become suitable to shoulder more responsibility. And as we stated from the start, the more responsibility we shoulder, the more freedom and growth we can experience. We at Jaywalker Lodge make no secrets about the value behind the activities we ask our men to participate in. There are no secrets or trickery here. It may seem like we’re being asked to make our beds every single morning, but what we’re really being asked is to take responsibility for caring for ourselves and the world around us. Nothing is arbitrary at Jaywalker Lodge — everything is done with the aim of reinforcing and improving recovery. The potential for a beautiful life in recovery is never far from our minds. That’s exactly why we do things the way we do them.
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
The gift of responsibility is truly one that keeps on giving. Without responsibility, we cannot grow and appreciate our freedom, nor can we remain free. Part of the vital responsibility we teach at Jaywalker Lodge is that of safeguarding our recovery. By extensive education on the 1st Step, we can understand our disease and thereby see the miraculous value of the solution. This is often sufficient to embrace recovery, and remaining active in our recovery, in the Twelve Steps, in meetings, and in service becomes our responsibility. We know we have the disease of alcoholism and addiction, so it is our responsibility to embrace the solution to that disease. If we embrace this responsibility, we finally learn how to become free. Free to experience a life in recovery beyond our wildest dreams. Free to live, love, laugh, and help others. Free to be who we’ve always wanted to be. And all this freedom is only made possible by the amount of responsibility we become willing to embrace.
The best part is, we don’t have to do any of it alone. We depend upon each other for our recovery because we can’t recover alone, nor do we learn how to be responsible alone. We help each other along, literally every step of the way.
Responsibility might not seem like a gift at first, but trust us: it truly is. The only prerequisite to live a life of freedom is responsibility, but it’s not the four-letter-word it’s usually made out to be — not at all. Responsibility is nothing less than the bridge to freedom, especially for those of us who are alcoholics or addicts. The goal of recovery is for us to live lives that are happy, joyous, and free. This means that we take responsibility for understanding our disease and for implementing the solution. Our disease is best understood by reading the book Alcoholics Anonymous. The solution to our disease is outlined in the book as well. And that solution is the 12-Step program of spiritual action, which is designed to produce freedom and recovery from alcoholism and addiction. If you’re ready and willing to learn how to be responsible for working the solution in your daily life, call Jaywalker Lodge now at (866) 529-9255.
As Chief Executive Officer Bill provides leadership and manage all day-to-day operations of Jaywalker Lodge, an extended care residential addiction treatment program for adult men.
