Sunday Serenity

Good evening, Cadre Sphere. Sunday Serenity here. Coming from upstate New York today. I'm Jason Lennox, and I'm your resident recovery champion. And coming a few minutes early here, I'm hanging in a parking lot. So when I come up to this area of the country, the wi fi is actually so bad where I'm staying that I have to drive down a few blocks, find. Find a decent area. So I'm in a parking lot. And I've been coming to you from upstate New York and, you know, here to talk about all things recovery, mental health, well being.

And this month, we're talking a little bit about the word savor and appreciation, gratitude. Sunday serenity. Luke, great to see you here. Sunday serenity is the series title. So I'm always talking about this because I believe that, you know, serenity and appreciation, gratitude for the things we have, really drives us to a better place in recovery, keeps us from going back to drugs, alcohol. Big walk coming up. Yes, huge walk. I'm gonna tell you all about it, but tonight I want to take just a little bit of time and talk about this idea of savor and appreciation even when things are not the greatest.

Luke, actually, who's on here? Our founder talked about this just a couple weeks ago, I think, but, you know, thinking about things, and he had a tree fall, and how did it turn into a workout for him and so on. And. And so I've been sick the last few days. I actually had to travel Thursday to come spend some time with family and take care of some things here for a wedding. And, you know, I just really couldn't change a trip. I thought about it, I wanted to, but I made the trip anyway, and it kind of contributed.

So been sick the last few days, so I'll keep this a little bit shorter. But, you know, it's. When we're not feeling the best, things are always just a little harder to appreciate, I think. But I want to give you a couple examples about how I've learned to appreciate. Maybe savor isn't the right word, but to just appreciate when things aren't always the greatest because it's easier to do when they are right. When things are good. I think we all find it a little easier to. To appreciate things, but.

So being sick, what does that mean? That means I'm getting 9, 10, and 9 hours of rest the last few nights, which absolutely makes a huge difference for me and probably needed. I could do that more often. But it also means I watched a Netflix series yesterday, limited series, which I rarely do. Maybe A few times a year. So another good thing that just kind of slowed things down. So not feeling the greatest, but getting the rest. I need just laying low and. And really enjoying some time with family.

So it's, again, doesn't feel the best physically, but feeling good spiritually, emotionally, mentally. And the other thing that I was just thinking about a lot, I drove with my aunt. We were driving to my cousin's place for dinner and just driving through these areas. And again, where I am, upstate New York, in an area that's not so great, WI fi is not good. The area is just not good. In fact, this parking lot that I had to come find some WI fi in just in the few minutes that I was sitting here, kind of getting ready, saw somebody walking by, looked like they could barely walk.

Something wrong with their leg. Who knows? They look a little roughed up, maybe. I don't know, something. And then, you know, right out in front of the car came a guy pushing a grocery cart with some things and going up behind this little thing here where the dumpster is, looking in the dumpster. So also just not in great shape. And then right in front of me, just a few minutes ago, it seemed pretty apparent that there was a little drug deal going down right in the middle of the parking lot. And I don't think.

I don't think anyone misses a beat around here when that kind of thing happens. So it's just interesting that I think about this, and there's a part of it that's a little bit depressing to just see this kind of life, this way of life. And then there's part of it that, you know, I remember going through and living through. And so for me, it's. Again, I get to look at these kinds of situations and go, yeah, this can. This can feel a little depressing. It doesn't feel great. It doesn't. It feels sad, all the things.

But also it's something that makes me appreciate my own life. Makes me kind of travel back a little bit to when I was the person who was pushing the cart, if you will, and kind of hobbling around and in good shape and doing drug deals right in front of. In broad daylight. So it really takes me back a little bit. And I realize, like, you know, while that was not a good place to be, it doesn't always have to be that way. And a lot of people find a different way of life. And again, like, it makes me appreciate just the opportunities I have, the place that I live, the family that I have, just the area, the wifi, all these things that I'm not seeing around here that I very much appreciate.

So, you know, savoring and you know, appreciating and having gratitude is again, it's, it's all fun and games and a little bit easier when things are going well. When life's good, we're healthy, all things are working, all cylinders firing and we're kind of in our comfortable, normal environments. But when we get outside of that and we really see some of life and we see some of the harder times and, and we deal with not feeling well, sick, all the things, you know, it's much harder, so it takes a little more effort, but it is possible.

That's the lesson here. When I want to carry this and land the plane is it is possible. Sometimes you have to work a little harder. And I just need to sit and reflect and think about some of these things and watch these things happen in front of me and go, okay, yep, this is how I used to live. This is where I was. I can appreciate this. I understand this. We don't know the stories of people, so I'm not here to judge anyone. I just know that there is an opportunity and I hope that they all can find a way of life that they, that they want.

And maybe it is the way of life that they want, but. And that makes them happy. But I just again can find a little bit of value and ways of appreciating some of these things and reminding myself, you know, I came from there and life is pretty good today and I'm grateful for all the things I have that sometimes I take for, I take for granted and I think we all do. So savoring life even when it's not great, definitely possible, maybe a little more work. But you know what? It's. That's what we're all here doing.

That's why we're showing up here. That's why we're sharing, that's why we're listening, that's why we're taking this in because we're all trying to do a little bit better each, each and every day. And sometimes that's means a little more work. But again, that's why we're here. That's why we're doing what we're doing. So I hope you all. I'm gonn wrap it up a little earlier than usual tonight, but I hope you all have had wonderful weekends and that you don't have any bugs floating around. And if you do, hopefully you're finding some, some ways to appreciate life still and find ways to take advantage of sicknesses when they come.

And if that means sleeping a little extra and watching some Netflix and that's not the that's not the end of the world. So I look forward to coming back next week. Next week I'll also be in a place where Wi fi will be a little spotty, but I'll find a spot. I'll be up at our cabin. I will definitely be savoring the time there. It's our annual family trip up there. 45 or 50 of us spend the week before Labor Day and it's just a tradition that I absolutely love. So come to you from there. Hopefully in a little bit better shape physically, but look forward to catching up with you then.

And yes, thank you very much. I look forward to checking back next week. Hope you all have wonderful weeks in the meantime. And as I said, we'll see you in a week from the cabin. Talk to you soon. Bye. Bye.