Recovery can become less exciting after many years of going to 12-Step meetings, sponsoring newly recovering persons and working through personal issues. The meetings of 12-Step recovery begin to blend into a long, ongoing drama that doesn’t appeal after twenty years or more. The truth is, after long time recovery, members tend to become complacent. It begins with life becoming busier than it used to be. Families and employment, as well as their homes and bank accounts have become stable. The incentives that make early recovery desperately necessary are no longer part of daily life.
Most have returned to a stable way of living. They marry, if not already so, find education and employment that they can responsibly maintain, have cleared away the legal wreckage that may have been present early on. What is left to recover from?
A great deal is the answer. For many, there are deep-rooted issues in relationships that still require maintenance and healing. A long process has been begun, but there will be new issues for long-timers to work through. As they age, health and end-of-life issues arise. Then there are children moving out of the home and on with their lives, marriages and grandchildren. These become the rewards of a successful, happy and productive family life, something that was usually threatened by the substance abuse that is no longer occurring.
Freshness is found in the 12 Step meetings, as new members continue to appear. There is work to be done in helping others find and enjoy recovery. It doesn’t retire, nor does it stop. New members arrive daily to the meetings and treatment centers around the world. There is always service work to be done. While many feel that newer members need to perform the service work that is important in early years of recovery, there is still room for leadership by those with history in recovery.
Workshops and retreats are beneficial to renewing the spiritual wonder and gratitude that permeate early recovery. The sense of
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