Sobriety: A Journey in Leadership
- jesslobopdx
- May 16, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 2, 2019
I carry this lingering feeling that I am not involved enough. That I am not political enough. That I am not active enough. I beat myself up for all of the things I don’t or haven’t done. This final leadership seminar has asked each of us to dive into deep self-reflection, and I believe for most, it has been incredibly uncomfortable. As I touched upon in my opening statement, many are incapacitated by the scope of modern social ills. I am one of those. I see myself as insignificant and even powerless. But what I forget is that there is an entire element of my being that I cannot share on a public level. That I cannot take credit for, get paid for, or talk about directly. Something I spend the vast majority of my life dedicating my time to. I am a member of the recovery community, and my purpose in life is to share a message of hope for suffering alcoholics. And to carry spiritual principals into all of my interactions. This is every bit part of my civic self as the afterschool tutoring, grant writing, or volunteering. It has shaped my ability to develop relationships, foster self-awareness, and regard humility and vulnerability as immeasurable assets.
Someone who knew what he was talking about once wrote, that “The Alcoholic is like the tornado roaring through the lives of others.” This is true and was me for many years. By the grace of something much larger than myself, I no longer rip through people’s lives, but instead find purpose in the act of bonding, mending, and building meaningful relationships. This is the yin yang of my existence. One of the most beautiful elements of recovery from alcoholism is the chance to do powerful, meaningful work within my community. To help others with the same affliction, come back from the brink of death and despair, show them that we can and do mend our own lives, heal our own communities, and live happy, purposeful existences. This stretches beyond suffering alcoholics, but into every area of our lives.
Brené Brown celebrated 26 years of sobriety in May of 2019. I had no idea that she was in recovery, but reflecting back, I can now recognize the earmarks of spiritual principals within her work. Few people are currently impacting and shaping the face of personal relations more than Brené. A recovering alcoholic is changing the world, one moment of vulnerability at a time. It was her most recent blog post, which inspired me to open up about my own path in recovery. Through the lens of her journey, I was able to see that mine has been incredibly meaningful, in its own way.
Historical Alcoholic Leaders:
Buzz Aldrin, astronaut and the 2nd man on the moon
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey
Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer, and pianist
Goran Bregovic, Yugoslavian singer
Lord Byron, English writer and poet
Winston Churchill, British prime minister in World War II
Cleopatra, last Egyptian pharaoh
William the Conqueror, first Norman king of England
Gerard Depardieu, French actor
Charles Dickens, English writer
Pat Eddery, Irish jockey
Elizabeth, Queen Mother of the U.K.
Benjamin Franklin, ‘Founding Father’ of the United States
Yuri Gagarin, Russian cosmonaut
André the Giant, French wrestler
Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter
Ulysses S. Grant, General in the American Civil War and U.S. president
Alexander the Great, Conqueror from ancient Greece
Peter the Great, the Russian tsar of partying
Václav Havel, Czech dissident, and president
Ernest Hemingway, American writer
Billy Joel, American singer-songwriter
Junior Johnson, American NASCAR-legend
Stephen King, American writer
Shane MacGowan, Irish singer of the Pogues
Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese explorer
Mickey Mantle, American baseball player
Karl Marx, German founder of communism
Jim Morrison, American singer-songwriter and poet
Nero, Roman emperor
Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter
Grigori Rasputin, Russian mystic and advisor to the imperial family
Babe Ruth, American baseball player
Selim II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer
Frank Sinatra, American singer and movie star
Jan van Speijk, captain of the Dutch fleet and national hero
Jozef Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union
Jan Steen, a painter in the Dutch ‘Golden Age.’
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovski, Russian composer
Nikola Tesla, Serbian inventor
Tiberius, Roman emperor
Mark Twain, American writer
Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first president
I don’t believe that it is too far-fetched to make the correlation with leadership qualities and dysfunctional relationship with drugs and alcohol. There has been a great deal of research done on the nature of the alcoholic mind, and the results state that we are… different. There is a brilliance and a darkness. Many never make it through the dark night of the soul, finding peace and deeper meaning. But I, Brené Brown and millions of others have been spared. It is not surprising that many have found that it a privilege to serve. Just because most do not see it, acknowledge it, or have any idea it is happening, it does not mean that it is not very real and meaningful work in our community. And I fail to acknowledge that in my own life.
The most challenging and rewarding project is that of my sobriety. I have been at it for over five years, and it hands down provides the most profound sense of purpose and meaning in my life. It is the foundation of all other worthwhile endeavors, and through it, I have discovered the principals which are necessary for meaningful, authentic civic participation and stewardship.
It is my superpower.
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