Recovery Through Nature
Written by Kelly E.
Adventures in Recovery (AIR) has just returned from its 11th major adventure trip and it’s 1st major adventure from our new location at San Cristobal, NM.
Destination – Chaco Culture National Historical Park located in a vast isolated area in Northwestern NM. Several days of hiking in the back-country through massive Aztec ruins and remnants of an ancient advanced civilization, coupled with intensive recovery work produced an outstanding and undeniable result of spiritual and emotional development and change – precisely the purpose of AIR.
Nights in the bivvys dipped to 20 degrees but spirits remained high as the opportunity for such an adventure outweighed the obvious discomfort. Work ethic and nightly AA meetings in the group remained constant, demonstrating that consistency with recovery disciplines is not limited to a specific treatment setting, but goes with them in their everyday lives no matter where they are.
The fact that they are not the center of the universe was brought home in a big way as they surveyed the vastness around them and contemplated the generations of people who have walked the same path before them, both in a historical cultural sense as well as in a recovery sense. The sense of humility was evident as several residents verbalized a new understanding of being a small part of a great whole and that sobriety in and of itself without any material gain is the reward of this way of life.
Kelly Egan is the Program Manager at Gatehouse Academy’s outdoor adventure wilderness program. Residents receive a once in a lifetime experience to work with horses surrounded by the majestic mountains of Taos, NM. On average, 10 to 12 young men and women get to experience a very different form of Drug Rehab – using Nature as a motivator towards Recovey
Related Posts
Recovery CampCan Animals Help Addicts in Recovery?
Another Celebrity in Rehab
November 19th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Thanks for the post
What a great group…AIR. I like the name! Is this group for anyone who is sober?
November 20th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
No Mike, but we can arrange for you to admit to Gatehouse Academy and go through the AIR program… only kidding. This group is a foundation program – a place where our young adults begin their stay here. AIR is our wilderness program option for young men and women that would benefit for developing their spirituality through nature.
On a side note, if you or anyone else at the Pat Moore Foundation would like to come out for a tour of our durg rehab – we would certainly be able to arrange a horse trail ride.
August 16th, 2010 at 4:44 am
oh i like the sound of this “AIR is our wilderness program option for young men and women that would benefit for developing their spirituality through nature.” i do believe that nature has it’s own healing power. Nature symbolizes freedom, serenity, simplicity, natural beauty and all the good things in life that is so hard to achieve in this materialistic world we live in. once in a while, i try to be one with nature, it purely brings me peace of mind.