Recovery elevator episode four hundred and twenty three. I got to see what it felt like to remember everything I said the night before and to feel a little bit of dignity around how I was moving through the world instead of just this constant shame.

Like this. Yeah, that should work. Mixed down. Yeah, keep going. Yo, yo, mix down. Three, four. Yo, yo, wiki wiki. Mixed down. There we go. Seven, eight, wiki wiki. Mixed down, highs in the house. I love it. Wiki wiki. Mixed down. There we go. Three, four. Welcome to the Recovery elevator podcast.

Virtual and I'm so excited to be here with you today. Listeners on today's episode we have Laura. She's 45 years old from Boston, Massachusetts and took her last drink on September 27th, 2014. Great job. Laura. I want to say thank you to all of our cafe Ari chat hosts. You guys do such an incredible job. Listeners. Recovery elevator will be in Atlanta, Georgia over Memorial Day weekend for a conference style event on Sunday.

May 28th at 7 p.m. Then we have our annual flagship retreat in the mountains of Big Sky Country in Bozeman, Montana, August 9th through the 13th. Go to our events page for more information. Link is in the show notes. Thank you Robin. And before we get any further, let's hear from exact nature.

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Okay, let's get started. The interview today with Laura is a bit longer than normal. So my intro is going to be a bit shorter and spoiler alert. The Laura from Boston, Massachusetts on today's podcast is the same Laura who wrote the Quit Lit book. We are the luckiest and the book that came out a few weeks ago push off from here. Laura is a rock star. You guys are going to love the interview for the intro today.

I want to talk about a quote from a comedian named Duncan Trussell. He says some poor phoneless fool is probably sitting next to a waterfall somewhere totally unaware of how angry and scared he's supposed to be. Now I cracked up when a friend sent me this meme last week. And again, here's the quote. Some poor phoneless fool is probably sitting next to a waterfall somewhere totally unaware of how angry and scared he's supposed to be.

The more I podcast, the more books I read on addiction, the more I learn about past cultures, the more conversations I have with those who have quit drinking, the more I realize that addictions are adaptations to unhealthy environments in 2023 to live in this world.

In this world, one needs barbituates, tranquilizers, sedatives, stimulants, screens, or a combination of those to survive. Of course, this isn't everyone, but rates of addiction, disease, unrest, unease, inflammation, cancers are all unfortunately on the rise, which I feel is directly tied to the environment or how we are living.

So if it's the environment that is creating these seemingly prolific conditions of unrest or addictions, then what are we to do?

This is where I think recovery work is so exciting because here's our task.

We must orientate ourselves towards a new horizon and we cannot look back because looking back may have catastrophic consequences, aka drinking again.

It is our task to create a reality that does not require numbing agents to survive in.

We are tasked with creating a world for ourselves and others where we feel connected, worthy, and part of a community.

Recovery is not about new world exploration or adding more to your plate, but restoring the circuitry we were born with, or of our ancestors, and coming back to the pack, to the herd, to the community.

Now I'll admit, some days I feel we are fucked as a species, but I know we will write the ship, in fact it's already happening.

And go even further with this, I think people who struggle with addiction, those who have recovered, done the inner work, are the cohort who pulls humanity back into a healthier homeostasis.

Addiction, in fact, could be what forces us to come together, put our differences aside, and start loving each other.

I do think technology will be the greatest addiction human beings will face, but there are already enough humans anchored in recovery for us to be just fine.

Again, we are tasked collectively to build a reality that doesn't require numbing agents to survive in.

This is exciting stuff in my opinion.

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