Wednesday, April 10, 2024

April 10, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Education is not a product: mark, diploma, job, money — in that order; it is a process.

— Bel Kaufman

Sometimes we think of education in terms of cash and security: we have to learn this before we can achieve that status. We talk about learning as an investment and insurance, and we get mad if it doesn’t pay off.

Some of us may think of the education in a Twelve Step program in similar terms: I’ve gotten to Step Eight, only four more to go and I’m cured, I’m happy, I’m free. But education is a way of being in and viewing the world. It is a way, a path. It should be a journey, an adventure, an exploration of ourselves and our relationships with others in the world.

Our programs take place in time, and they go on for the rest of our lives. Each Step is an affirmation of a certain way of being and needs to be repeated and related to every other Step indefinitely. Like life, this kind of education is continuous, open-ended, and enduring.

My program is an ongoing process that continues to open new ways of being and relating to the world.

Hazelden Foundation

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