My Journey To Recovery Branches
In April, 2012, at the suggestion of a good friend who had a connection with Native American spirituality, I took a walk in the woods of northern Virginia. I had no idea what I was looking for, nor what I would find. Less than 50 yards into the forest, I came across the most unusual tree I had ever seen. It had branches that, instead of reaching upward and outward, grew at skewed angles to each other, crooked, asymmetrical and totally imperfect. I felt drawn to this tree and having no clue what to do next, I simply walked up and put my hands against the bark, closing my eyes and clearing my mind. What came to me was the idea that everyone is on a different path to the same joyous goal - recovery in whatever shape or form that might take, or whatever "branch" that might be. I cleared my mind again, felt the sun coming down through the twisted branches, and opened my eyes. As I looked up, a hawk glided silently by, reminding me that my friend who had suggested this moment of meditation had the Indian name of Red Hawk. And at that moment, it came to me...Recovery Branches on the twisted tree, opening to our individual and collective pathways to recovery.
Welcome to the journey!
