An interesting question came my way today: What does poetry have to do with recovery? I’ve posted a couple of poems and the reason I did (and probably will again) is that I not only believe in the power of writing to heal, but I live it. I write poetry and I play the guitar as ways to purge bad juju that I collect throughout the week. Really, we all collect bad juju and for me, I redirect it through creative actions so that I don’t harbor it and then allow it to fester inside me like a spiritual ulcer.

I’m not too concerned if my poetry or my guitar playing or my general writing is any good. Nor do I sit around thinking that my writing is going to save the world or make me a gazillion dollars. Nope. While I do hope that what I write and teach helps people find their own source of creative power as a way to counteract all the bad forces that come through human lives, I write and create because for me, creating is a need as basic as the need to eat or sleep or breathe.

The point of my work is to be a living example that creating is a fountainhead of freedom and expression of all that’s good and strong and beautiful in all of humanity. Even if we find ourselves mired in an addiction, there’s still beauty in our soul. We all need to just find it and let if flow. We are beautiful creatures capable of greatness, even if that greatness is nothing more than a simple poem telling the world that there’s hope within all despair. Poetry allows my life to have a bit of meaning; in that, I am no different than any other person on the planet. Creativity gives my life meaning. I hope it can do the same for everyone, regardless of our circumstances.