A central theme to the month of July in America is freedom. On the Fourth of July we celebrate America’s Independence. The day our founding fathers signed the declaration of independence was a momentous day not just in American history but the history of the world. As the story goes, we bravely chose to remove ourselves from religious persecution and flee to better lands. We worked together to build a democracy, a representative government where people choose the rules, everyone has a say, and each man can live in the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. On July 4, 1776, Congress approved the wording on the Declaration of Independence and threw out the control of England from their lives. They were, officially, free.
“With great power comes great responsibility,” said Uncle Ben in Spiderman to his beloved nephew, Peter Parker. Freedom is a responsibility, and a great one at that. When America claimed its independence, it gained an incredible new power, one the world had not witnessed in some time. With that power has come great responsibility and today America stands as the shining example of how freedom should be handled.
You approve your declaration of independence the moment you decide to stop drinking or using and attend a treatment program. You approve the words “I am done” and put into legislation new laws of your life which make you a better, more free man. Freedom, however, requires great work in addition to great responsibility. Your freedom isn’t necessarily free when it comes to recovery because you have to choose and fight for your freedom every day. All it takes is one relapse to throw that freedom away and return to the relentless persecution sought by addiction. All it takes is giving your freedom away to impulse, resentment, justification, and rationalization to find yourself imprisoned once more.
Your freedom is yours, but can be taken away by others. Your freedom is your to protect, cherish, and build through your recovery. All of the skills and knowledge you gain in treatment help you to maintain and sustain the freedom your recovery allows you.
Men are finding freedom from addiction by transforming their lives from the inside out at Tree House Recovery in Portland, Oregon. By creating sustainable change, men can create a sustainable recovery for life. For information on our innovative approach to men’s addiction treatment, call (503) 850-2474 today.
