“To reopen old wounds that we may have felt were largely healed may seem pointless and painful, but we found that this process was essential to our new life and our new beginning.”

– Life with Hope, third edition, page 36

When I was using, I had my favorite places I would associate with using marijuana. I have found it helpful to go back to those places and transform them into a clean serene environment. I call this “turning over a place.” I like to go back to those places and instead of getting high I will now read a book, eat something healthy, or silently sit and observe the glory that is Higher Power.

For some of us, the places might actually be activities, which is OK, then I “turn over” picking up the kids, or attending a business meeting, or going shopping. The first place that I turned over was the cabinet above my stove. It used to be filled with paraphernalia and copious amounts of marijuana. Shortly after becoming clean I cleared out that cabinet and filled it with rice, beans, oatmeal, berries, and the like. Immediately following this action I found my cravings drastically reduced. Now, quite frequently when I open that cabinet, I feel calm and a comforting joy.

Final thought: For today, try to think of some of the places in your life, where you always got high, or in which you used to associate with getting high, then “turn over” one of them! “Turn over” one place today and see how it feels.