Hope Is Always Available

In Recovery by Tree House Recovery

Imagine a day that is full of sunshine beaming across a sky clear from the clouds, providing all the warmth and comfort we need. We relish in days like this, even though they are plenty in places like Florida. If we didn’t treasure the sunshine so deeply, we wouldn’t become so disturbed when the sun disappears for long lengths of time. The human body is built for sunshine, built for absorbing the Vitamin D it provides, built for playing in its light, and built for reveling in the majesty of the moment when it rises and sets.

Most of us experience great happiness and joy by way of the sun. When the sun disappears, if even for a moment, we can find our mood instantly changed. Some of our mood change is chemical- Vitamin D makes us feel good; the memories associated with sunshine make us feel good, too, and boost the production of feel-good chemicals in the brain like dopamine and serotonin. Our natural reaction is to fret or feel a sudden drop in pleasurable feeling when a source of happy-production like the sun, disappears. People suffer seasonal depression when there are long periods without sunshine for this reason. However, there is a greater metaphor for our lives at play when we look at what it means when the sun disappears and our mood changes.

As humans with a limited perspective, we mistakenly tell ourselves that the sun has “gone away”, is “hiding” or otherwise ceases to provide to us when it is shrouded by the clouds. What we don’t take time to think about is that the sun is simply on the other side of the clouds. If we were to take off in a plane and reach our optimum “cruising altitude”, we’d be far above the clouds we see on the ground, in an open sky full of bright, warm sunshine. All we need is a perspective shift to realize that even in the darkness, somewhere, the sun is still shining which can help us remember that even in the darkest moments of our life, the hope of brighter times is always available.

 

Tree House Recovery of Portland, Oregon is a men’s addiction treatment center that teaches our clients how to roll with life’s punches and use the tools they’ve learned throughout the treatment process to stay on top of anything life throws at them. Call (503) 850-2474 to see how we can help you today.