Millions of millennials can lovingly recall the nostalgia of playing Oregon Trail on their 1990s home computers or at school. Portland, known as the “Rose City”, is one of the last towns at the end of the infamous Oregon Trail. Today, Portland is less known for welcoming wagoneers as it is for its hipster culture, beautiful nature, and incredible food scene, among many wonderful things. When men come to treatment at Tree House Recovery in Portland, Oregon, they learn about themselves as much from their treatment program as they do from their location in one of the greatest cities in Oregon.
Oregon’s state motto is Alis volat propriis which translates to She flies with her own wings. Judge Jesse Quinn Thornton coined the phrase in English, which became part of the Territorial Seal of Oregon in 1854. In other latin translations, the Oregon state motto can be read one flies on one’s own wings.
From the westward determination of early settlers to the unique way Oregonians strike their independence from the rest of the country, the state motto has a lot of meaning. For example, many restaurants in Oregon’s popular food culture rely on local, seasonal ingredients rather than outsourcing. Why exactly this motto was chosen is unknown. How men can gain inspiration from it for their recovery is open for interpretation.
Addiction causes a chemical dependency of mind and body. Men become addicted to drugs and alcohol when they become dependent on drugs and alcohol for everything. At its worst, addiction can mean not being able to get out of bed and even start the day without a hit of intoxication. Meaning, when actively addicted, men can only fly on the wings they believe mind altering substances are giving them. Problematically, the wings provided by addiction are tattered, torn, and broken. Men don’t fly when they’re addicted, they fall.
Recovery can be seen as a process in which men rebuild their wings, feather by feather, bone by bone. Through treatment, men rebuild the confidence they need to fly on their wings, search for new heights in their lives, and safely soar. By creating sustainable changes in their lives, transforming mind and body, men create sustainable flight. Ultimately, men gain the peace and serenity they need to know they can fly on their own wings, that their wings are good enough, and that adventure is waiting on the other side of every take off.
Men are finding freedom from addiction every day through the treatment programs at Tree House Recovery. Call us today for information: (503) 850-2474
