Well, since we're talking about visiting Vegas, it seems appropriate to discuss gambling.
Las Vegas thrives on the reality that the odds are always in its favor; that what you may win today, you'll surely lose (and then some) tomorrow.
I think that looking at recovery through this lens is helpful. Playing the odds is smart.....taking the least amount of risk is smart. Being mindful that, while sometimes risks pay off and some people win....usually most lose.
Recovery isn't just about losing money....it's about losing everything. Why would I want to risk that, when the odds are always stacked against me?
Why would I assume that I had become "strong enough" to take on that 800 pound gorilla that had thorough bashed me time after time? My odds of winning....even if they were 50/50....it's like playing Russian Roulette, but with three bullets instead of only one. Wisdom is me never again climbing into the ring with that ape, with visions of winning the prize.
But it's also understandable in that, at six months....with my brain really just beginning to heal, most of my decisions were questionable. The only part of me that thought I could go up against my alcoholism and win....was my ego (that is to say, my alcoholic thinking). One of the plainly stupidest ideas entertained by newcomers is to "test" their recovery by putting themselves at risk.
Are you willing to die to be entertained? And if you don't think that's a possibility....well....I've buried two people already this week.
blessings
zenbear