One of the biggest problems I’ve had in recovery is my habit of overthinking things.  I grew up around people with an insatiable desire to name, classify, quantify, and then sign, seal and deliver all manner of information, from the Latin names of plants to the works of great artists.  The emphasis was on knowing stuff, not understanding it — superficial was good enough, as long as you could sound like you knew what was happening.  In a way it was similar to the belief, common in many primitive societies, that if you know something’s name, you have power over it.

I see this sort of thing in the rooms of recovery, as well, and I was one of the worst afflicted: gathering knowledge for its own sake, not to facilitate understanding.   Continue reading →