Do we ever have enough time to do all the things we want or need to do? If we’re like most of us in recovery, the answer is probably not. Time is, however, something we spend a great deal of, you guessed it, time thinking about. We worry that we don’t have enough of it, that we’ll waste it, that it comes and goes too quickly.

Here’s a little secret. Time is what’s happening right now. That’s all we can really do anything about, anyway. What we worry most about is, generally speaking, something that already happened, something that’s in the past. Frankly, we can’t change the past, so taking our precious time to worry about it really isn’t anything that we should indulge in.

Of course, that’s certainly easier said than done. Just try to remember the recommendation when we’re deep in the maelstrom of nagging memories that continue to plague us. It’s really tough to put into practice what we know we should do, in this case, stop worrying about the past.

But time is also something we all need in recovery. For one thing, it takes time to heal. That much we learned during rehab, but it’s a concept that some of us still grapple with. We’re impatient, eager to put all this pain and uncertainty behind us. While it’s normal to feel anxious about how our new lives in sobriety will turn out, wondering if we have what it takes or even if we will be able to withstand the cravings and urges that may linger on, if we listen to what the old-timers in the rooms have to say, it does get better the longer we stick with it.

We are breaking old self-destructive patterns and beginning to adopt new and healthier behaviors. Sure, it feels a little strange at first. When we begin anything new, it’s the same thing. We have to become more practiced in doing something for it to actually sink in and start to feel automatic. We knew what automatic felt like when we used to reach for that drink or use to get ourselves numbed out or able to tolerate whatever situation we were in. That kind of automatic we’re familiar with. Well, this is a new kind of automatic that we’re after, one that is beneficial to our overall sobriety, our productiveness and happiness in recovery. And that takes time and practice to achieve.

But it does happen, or it can. The key is to remain vigilant, to be proactive, to keep constantly learning and growing. Of this we can be sure. If we’re worried about time or the lack thereof, we simply have to acknowledge our efforts and then commit anew to doing the hard work of recovery. It is all worth it.

Granted, we’re all about learning shortcuts. That’s another little holdover from our past days of addiction. But there are shortcuts that work in our favor in recovery, like finding how to combine different tips and techniques to suit our own situation and there are shortcuts that take the legs out from under our progress, like going back to old haunts or hanging out with people associated with our past drug and alcohol abuse. Some shortcuts aren’t ever worth it, while others definitely are. What we need to do now is keep our focus on our recovery and maximize our efforts on doing whatever it takes to not only maintain it but help it grow stronger.

Certainly recovery is a great achievement. And, as we all know, great achievements take time. So, isn’t it time that we acknowledge our time is well-spent doing the work of recovery? Every day, every hour that we are clean and sober counts. Every minute counts. And we have all the time in the world ahead of us, minute by minute, day by day. It all adds up to a time that’s available to us for great accomplishments.

Some of us may be unfamiliar with Joseph Campbell, the man who wrote The Hero With a Thousand Faces. But we don’t have to know much more about him than the fact that he was an incredibly astute individual who studied and wrote about the human condition and, more importantly, the infinite capabilities we each have.

One of the points to remember about Campbell’s quote about wiping out pain is that joy is what will help us heal. Where there is joy, while there may still be some residual pain, it won’t hurt as much. It may be tempered, in the background, not preventing us from moving forward, and all this is a natural and entirely within our grasp means of dealing with pain.

The alternative, of course, is to succumb to the pain, to allow it to run roughshod over us and keep us mired in misery. No one wants that. But how and where do we find that place inside us where there is joy? What if we haven’t known joy for many months or even years? What if we have never felt joy? Are we to be excluded from having a release from our pain?

While we cannot be sure that there is a certain place inside us that knows joy or can even recognize joy, if we take it on faith that there is such a place, then we’ll be more likely to find it. We do have to get outside our constant fixation on problems and issues and daily pain, however. If we’re always thinking about how bad we feel, we’re naturally going to continue to feel pain.

A better suggestion is to put aside those nagging concerns, that never-ending gnawing pain that we think about all the time, and go do something that will bring a smile to someone else. Maybe that someone is a person we love dearly, and this would be an entirely natural thing for us to do. It could, however, be a stranger, someone that we meet in the rooms that is having a difficult time of it, possibly someone in early recovery. We could extend our hand in friendship, offer a welcome and a few kind words, make them feel a little less lonely and, for a time, less fearful and lost.

When we think of joy, maybe we can remember a time in our childhood when we looked forward with such excitement to Christmas. Remember the tree with all its colored lights and ornaments? How it smelled, how vivid the colors were in the room, and, of course, all those brightly-wrapped presents nestled beneath the tree? Even if there were few presents, as long as there was a tree and family around to celebrate the holiday, there must have been some feeling of happiness or joy? At least, for most of us that may have been a reality.

Try to bring that type of feeling to the present, at Christmas or during any other time of the year. The secret is to bring delight to another. In so doing, we will get a kind of transfer effect. Their smile and laughter will rub off on us, making us feel better as a result. Maybe it’s a small thing, a temporary feeling, but it still feels good. And feeling good in such a way is very healthy and normal.

When we can laugh and smile and reflect on the good things in life, we are more satisfied and happy. We may even discover that we feel joy. With joy, coming from that unknown place inside, we may find that we can let go of some of the pain that has plagued us for so long.

Be like children, who can find joy in the smallest things. Life is an incredible journey, there for each of us to experience. Find joy and heal the pain.

Maria Jose Fernandez Serrano of the University of Granada tested 123 people who were abusing more than one of these drugs: methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, Ecstasy, alcohol, and cocaine, and compared their results to those of 67 non-users. The people using drugs had problems recognizing anger, disgust, happiness, fear, and sadness in others’ facial expressions.

Previous research has found that 70% of drug abusers show deterioration in working memory, multi-tasking, planning, flexibility, and fluency of thought.