"I picked up my red [30 day] chip today...As proud as I am, I've been down this road before. Now's when I gotta really start working to keep my sobriety. Relapse can creep up so fast if I get too confident."

As my client shared this milestone, I realized that today, too, marks my own 30 days "in recovery" of a different sort.

30 days ago today, I experienced the rigorous, spiritually rehabilitative process of Teshuva.

On Yom Kippur and the 40 day period prior, I introspected, prayed, and resolved to overcome habitual behaviors that I recognized as toxic to my spiritual and emotional well-being.

And I truly meant it.

And life returned, and I haven't thought too hard about what happened that day since. 

I assumed the work had been done.

The more closely I engage with the addiction recovery process, the more I see the relevance of the idea "sobriety is but a bare beginning" to my own ongoing spiritual recovery. 

The principles of addiction recovery have so much wisdom to teach us all.

About how to grow in all domains of our spiritual, emotional, and personal lives.

Deciding to change, and taking the first steps is just the beginning. Maintaining 'sobriety' takes ongoing work. Dedicated commitment. Ongoing vigilance against returning to old habits and behaviors and evaluation and recalibration of one's daily routine and emotional, mental, and spiritual fitness. 

And so on my "30 day anniversary" of spiritual recovery after the Yomim Noraim, I am deeply grateful to spend my days among inspiring heroes who continually show me what it means to stay committed to an authentic program of growth and recovery, no matter what it takes.