Both laughter and weeping cleanse us. They bring closure to an experience. They make possible our letting go. And we must let go of pain, as well as joy, to ready ourselves for the next blessing life offers us. ~ Karen Casey, Each Day a New Beginning

They say in recovery
we feel better. Certainly,
after a while, that’s true
in every aspect of our lives.
But at first we really feel better.
We feel anger better,
we feel sorrow better,
we feel guilt better,
we feel depressed better,
despair better, loneliness better,
fear better, panic better, grief,
anguish, weary, rejection,
suspicious, guilty, stupid,
tender, unsure, rebellious…
we feel everything better.
But it’s a path necessary
because we’ve avoided feeling
by using substances…alcohol,
sugar, drugs, tobacco…
and by using compulsions…
shopping, gambling, gaming,
exercise, gossip, service,
people-pleasing, self-improvement…
We’ve avoided feeling
and feelings scare us.
Until they don’t and they become
what they were made to be,
a rich and necessary part of life.