November 11

I am sharing today's daily meditation from Answers in the Heart because this is a topic I have been thinking about lately. Now that I have been abstinent from sexual activity for so long, how will I know if or when the time is right to begin having sex again? Moreover, how do I engage in healthy sexual behavior? All of these questions make me realize that I still have a long way to go!

NOVEMBER 11

Love alone is capable of uniting living beings in such a way as to complete and fulfill them, for it alone takes them and joins them by what is deepest in themselves. — Teilhard de Chardin

Experiencing our sexuality once we’ve entered recovery presents many challenges. Once we’ve brought our addiction into the light, everything looks different, especially sex. One of the first things we learn is that we are always sexual beings, whether we’re in a relationship or by ourselves. Recovery doesn’t mean renouncing our sexuality; indeed, it means embracing it in a new way. Our personal abstinence determines our behavior and helps us decide when it’s appropriate to be sexual. We choose when or whether to be sexual with ourselves, and how to stay abstinent during a sexual experience. We have new values, support from others, the wisdom of the program, and our spirits to guide us. Through recovery we will learn to respect, nurture, and eventually love our sexuality just as we’re learning to do for the other parts of ourselves.

I believe my sexuality is healing each day as I treat myself with gentleness.