Landmarks

Recently I celebrated an anniversary; some would call it a birthday.  A few weeks ago (Feb 28) marked 2 years since I got into a healing (I like to use the word recovery) process that has literally transformed my attitudes toward God, myself, and others.  It has cleared away a lot of the wreckage of my past and has given me more self-esteem and better relationships with the people in my life.  And most of that happened within the first year... I can't begin to describe how deep an impact this has had on every facet of my life.

Very soon my hubby will celebrate a similar anniversary; his process started almost 4 weeks after mine did.

It's an amazing transformation for both of us, one we can barely fathom.  

I think landmarks, stakes in the ground, mementos, monuments - these remind us of those moments when a line was drawn in the sand, someone took a stand, someone was rescued - or whatever.  

Which is why a medallion just like this one graces a prominent spot in my home, a spot that would mean something only to me - yet... there it sits.

It is not a reward.  It is a reminder of a new lifestyle of rigorous honesty with myself, a way of life I am now living.  It encourages me to press onward, to look upward, to not become complacent, to stay true to myself, and to have compassion for those who - like me long before I got into recovery - are still only existing and yet believing that they are just fine.