Lessons from vacuum cleaners

At some point in my life, I think it would be fun to have an iRobot. From people who I know who have had them, they said that they really worked well. The price is a bit steep for me, but it'll go on my wish list.

In a bit of a funny way, I came across this post titled 5 lessons I learned from my vacuum cleaner.

It's witty but has aspects relevant to life and recovery.

1. Not falling off the edge.
It is hopeful in recovery that we can learn where our "edge" is, that point just before a lapse or if we find ourselves in a lapse, that we are able to turn it around before we get sucked in and descend down the slippery slope. This isn't always easy but I think it begins with self awareness. And after a point in time, it becomes about choice.

2. The job gets done eventually. Recovery isn't a fast process by any means. If it were, there would be far more of us recovered. But recovery just doesn't work that way. It can be a tedious process that takes a lot of time, work, and effort. And sometimes, it feels like a "go one step forward, two steps back" process. But I truly like to believe we can all get there--slow and steady.

3. and 4. Overcoming obstacles and knowing your needs and asking for help. Obstacles are everywhere in our lives. It's important to identify them first, and then try to overcome them. Sometimes this means identifying the who, what, when, where, why questions, while at other times, rehashing out the past may just keep you flailing. Irregardless, many times, we can't do it alone, so this is where reaching out and finding help is essential. Learning to ask for help can be one of the toughest, most courageous things to do in life. But the fact is, we all need support.

5. Recharge. Often times, we forget this. We may try to fill our days with an inordinate amount of tasks. We may exercise mercilessly. We may be there for other people but neglect our own needs. In the end, we wind up exhausting ourselves, never allowing ourselves to recharge. Everyone has a different view and opinion of this. It can be something as simple as a massage or more elaborate in a getaway trip or vacation. What this means, however, is we are all human and deserve to fulfill our own needs and desires.

I know we've all heard this stuff before and it is cliche-ish, but now, it becomes about putting this knowledge to practice. We can write it until doomsday and we can talk about it until we are blue in the face, but if we never put it into practice, we'll never really see our own potential.