When holidays roll around, it’s traditional for the staff at Narconon centers to go to work to provide festivities for clients in rehab. Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s – for many of these clients, it’s the first sober holiday they’ve had in years, perhaps even decades. Holidays mean family events and that’s a painful subject for a person who has lost everything to heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, pills or alcohol.
Now, these individuals have made the decision that the future is going to be very different from the past. At Narconon, these people are learning to build new sober lives so they can enjoy every holiday to come. So this Fourth of July had special meaning to these clients in recovery. And it was appropriate that Narconon staff make it an enjoyable holiday for them.
Celebrations at Narconon Centers Across the Country
At Narconon Arrowhead in Oklahoma, everyone went swimming in Lake Eufaula – after all, it’s only a few steps from the main lodge situated in the Arrowhead State Park. When they returned to the lodge, hamburgers and hot dogs were waiting for them and after dark, of course, there was a spectacular fireworks display.
In Northern California, Narconon Redwood Cliffs staff and their families participated in Fourth of July parades in nearby Watsonville and Aptos, just up the coast a few miles. They were shining representatives of the concept that being sober is far more enjoyable than being impaired by drugs or drink. Afterwards, there was the traditional barbecue back at the rehab center perched high in the hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
At Narconon Louisiana in Denham Springs, the barbecue and games came first, and their fireworks display brought out the neighbors who also enjoyed the display.
Learning to Make Sobriety a Lifetime Habit
For people who have spent a long time addicted, it’s vital to live a generally healthy lifestyle that supports their sobriety after they go home. Positive friends, ethical activities, exercise and healthy foods all contribute to that new life without drugs or alcohol. At sober Fourth of July activities like these, those in recovery at Narconon centers learn that they don’t have to bring their old bad habits into their new, sober lives. Now, the Fourth of July can be about enjoying friends, being outdoors and appreciating the freedom they enjoy as Americans. And, now that they are sober, they can return home and contribute to their communities as responsible residents.
All these simple dreams of being able to cherish freedoms and enjoy one’s life are possible when the need for drugs has been conquered. And that dream comes true every day at Narconon rehab centers across America and around the world.
