Fixed By Nature

“THE BODY WANTS TO HEAL. BUT YOU HAVE TO GIVE IT THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT TO DO SO.”

Those words were spoken to me when I was a drug addict.

At the time, my body was a mess. Years of prescription opioid abuse had taken their toll, and a holistic doctor explained it to me in a way no one else had.

“You’ve created a chemical war inside your body. Your cells are in a state of confusion. Your gut is damaged. Your brain is fighting for stability. But there’s still time.”

Part of me wanted to dismiss him.

Drink more water? Eat better? Get outside? You think kale is going to fix this?

But he wasn't promising me a miracle.

He was telling me something much simpler:

Give your body better conditions, and give it a chance to do what it was designed to do.

Clean nutrition. Hydration. Sleep. Fresh air. Movement. Nature.

Looking back nearly a decade later, I realize how important that conversation was. He wasn't telling me that food or fresh air alone would cure addiction. He was helping me understand that recovery wasn't only about what I needed to stop putting into my body.

It was also about what I needed to start giving it.

That idea eventually became a huge part of how I see health, recovery, and life itself:

We often ask our bodies to heal while continuing to give them the same environment in which they became unhealthy.

Maybe healing begins by changing the conditions.

Not everything at once.

Just one thing today.

More water. A real meal. A walk outside. An earlier bedtime. Ten quiet minutes in the sun.

Give your body something it can work with.

What is ONE condition you could improve today?

—Steve
Fixed by Nature
Return to the Design.

Link to Empowered Sobriety, in the comments.

https://a.co/d/0gO1i4Bi

EMPOWERED SOBRIETY
Breaking Free from Opioid Addiction Through Faith Nature and God’s Perfect Design ✌️💚😀🙏🏼

Sometimes the answer isn’t to push harder.

Sometimes we need to step back.

Give things a little time to settle.

Get outside. Breathe. Quiet the noise. Let the emotions come down and give our minds a chance to clear.

Because what feels impossible in the middle of the storm can look very different once the storm passes.

You don’t always need to have everything figured out today.

Sometimes you just need enough space to find another reason why.

Another reason to get up tomorrow.
Another reason to keep moving.
Another reason to believe things can still change.

If today feels heavy, don’t make a permanent decision based on a temporary moment.

Step back.

Let it settle.

Then find another reason why. 🌿

WHAT IF WE’RE SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING WE ALREADY KNOW?

A lot of people are tired right now.

We’re stressed. Divided. Distracted. Lonely. Angry. Searching for answers in politics, technology, medicine, money, self-help—and whatever the next new thing promises to fix.

And yet I keep coming back to something incredibly simple.

What if some of what we're searching so hard for isn't new at all?

We already know relationships matter.

We know carrying anger for years doesn't make us healthier.

We know serving someone else can give us a sense of purpose.

We know gratitude can change the way we experience a bad day.

We know greed doesn't seem to make people happier.

We know we need community.

We know compassion feels different than judgment.

And we know love usually produces something better than hate.

What's interesting to me is that science keeps discovering evidence for many of these things.

Strong social connection is associated with better health and longevity. Gratitude practices have been linked with improvements in well-being. Forgiveness can reduce some of the stress associated with holding onto anger and resentment. Time in quiet, reflection and nature can help calm the nervous system.

None of that proves God.

But it makes me ask a question:

What if these aren't just nice ideas?

What if they're clues?

Clues to how human beings were designed to live.

And this is where my faith enters the conversation.

I'm a Christian.

I believe Jesus Christ was God in human form. I believe He died, and I believe He rose again.

I'm not going to pretend that part of my faith doesn't matter to me.

But I'm also not asking you to change your religion.

I'm asking you to look at something else for a moment.

Look at how Jesus lived.

Love your neighbor.

Forgive.

Serve.

Care for the hurting.

Resist greed.

Practice humility.

Step away from the noise for prayer and solitude.

Treat others the way you would want to be treated.

And perhaps one of the most difficult instructions ever given:

Love your enemies.

Jesus said:

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
— John 10:10

I've spent a lot of my own life learning what happens when I drift away from principles that produce life.

And I've also experienced what can happen when I begin returning to them.

That's a big part of what Design means to me in Fixed by Nature.

Not going backward.

Not abandoning medicine, technology, cities or modern life.

And certainly not pretending we can recreate Eden.

It's asking:

How were human beings designed to live—and how much of that have we lost?

Maybe returning to God's Design looks surprisingly ordinary.

Forgive somebody.

Call somebody you love.

Go outside.

Help somebody who can't repay you.

Practice gratitude when life isn't going your way.

Put the phone down and be present with another human being.

Choose compassion when anger would be easier.

Maybe that's where we begin.

One small action today: Pick just ONE of those things and intentionally practice it.

Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, agnostic, atheist—or somewhere in between—I'm curious:

Would your life be worse if you lived a little more like this?

And if the answer is no...

maybe that's worth paying attention to. 🌿

WHAT IF RETURNING TO THE DESIGN DOESN'T MEAN GOING BACKWARD?

I've been thinking about something.

If human beings spent most of our history living much closer to nature—moving our bodies, gathering food, living in community, depending on one another—does my idea of returning to God's Design mean we should all abandon modern life and become hunter-gatherers again?

Obviously not.

And that made me realize something important about the Five D's.

Design isn't a period in history.

It's a reference point.

I don't believe God created us with the intention that human beings would never invent anything, build cities, practice medicine, create businesses or develop technology.

We were made to learn.

To create.

To cultivate.

To solve problems.

To build.

The question isn't whether we've advanced.

The question is whether everything we've built is still serving the human being it was created to serve.

Think about it.

We invented transportation so we wouldn't have to walk everywhere.

That's good.

But now many of us hardly move.

We created an industrial food system so food could be abundant and convenient.

That's good.

But somewhere along the way, convenience often became more important than nourishment.

We created smartphones to connect us.

That's incredible.

But how many times have you seen a family sitting together while everyone is staring at a different screen?

We developed technology to save time.

Yet somehow everybody seems to have less of it.

And now we're creating artificial intelligence capable of writing, researching, planning, teaching, creating and even helping us think.

Again, I don't think that's necessarily bad.

I use AI.

But here's the question I've started asking:

Is the tool increasing my ability to be human—or slowly replacing it?

That question changes how I understand the Five D's.

DESIGN

Design isn't about living like our ancestors.

It's understanding the conditions under which human beings flourish.

Movement.

Real food.

Nature.

Relationships.

Community.

Purpose.

Challenge.

Creativity.

Rest.

Gratitude.

Faith.

Love.

Stewardship.

DRIFT

Drift happens when we gradually move away from those things.

Usually we don't even notice it happening.

And often the very things causing the Drift originally made life better.

DEPENDENCY

Eventually convenience becomes something we can't imagine living without.

The car.

The processed food.

The medication.

The phone.

The algorithm.

Maybe soon, AI.

The tool that once served us can slowly become something we serve.

DISRUPTION

Eventually something tells us we're off course.

Our health.

Our relationships.

Our finances.

Our attention.

Our anxiety.

Our loneliness.

Our environment.

Our sense that despite having more convenience than almost any humans who ever lived...

something still doesn't feel right.

And then comes DELIVERANCE.

This is the part I've been thinking about differently.

Deliverance doesn't mean going backward.

It means returning to alignment.

Imagine a ship that's been pushed twenty miles off course.

The captain doesn't sail all the way back to the harbor where the journey started.

He checks his position.

Finds the proper heading.

Corrects course.

And keeps moving forward.

Maybe that's what humanity needs to do.

We don't need to abandon technology.

We need technology that serves the Design.

Use the car—but walk.

Use the grocery store—but grow something.

Use modern medicine—but take responsibility for the body you've been given.

Use the smartphone—but put it down and talk to the person sitting beside you.

Use AI—but don't surrender your ability to think.

Build businesses—but remember what the money is supposed to provide.

Create incredible technology—but don't forget the human being the technology was supposed to serve.

Maybe progress isn't the problem.

Progress without alignment is.

And perhaps Deliverance isn't about returning humanity to some romantic version of the past.

It's about carrying the wisdom of the original Design forward.

That may become especially important as AI changes our world.

Because for the first time, we've created a tool that doesn't just extend our muscles, transportation or access to information.

It can begin extending—and potentially replacing—parts of our thinking.

So I think one question is going to become increasingly important:

Does this technology help me think better... or am I asking it to think for me?

Those are two very different futures.

One could free us from meaningless work and give us more time for family, community, creativity, nature, purpose and God.

The other could make us more comfortable, more entertained, more dependent...

and less capable.

I don't believe the answer is rejecting the future.

I think it's learning how to enter it without losing ourselves.

Design isn't somewhere behind us.

It's the compass that tells us whether we're still heading in the right direction.

And Deliverance isn't going backward.

It's returning to alignment with the Design—and then continuing forward.

Maybe that's what becoming Fixed by Nature really means.

Not escaping the modern world.

Learning how to live in it without allowing it to pull us away from the things we were created to be.

So here's the question I've been asking myself:

What part of modern life genuinely helps you live better—and what part do you think we've allowed to take us too far from the Design?

Before you ask God for more… notice what's already here.

In 2017, my wife and I bought 10 acres of raw land.

It was my dream property.

My plan was to eventually live as self-sufficiently as possible.

Grow our own food.
Build gardens.
Cut trails through the woods.
Raise chickens and goats.
Create our own little natural paradise.

There was even a three-acre easement running diagonally across the property that I initially thought was a problem.

Then I learned I could raise livestock on it.

Problem solved.

I'd raise goats. 😂

I could see the whole thing in my mind.

But life didn't cooperate with my timeline.

After setback after setback, eventually the dream was put on hold indefinitely.

And today?

We still own those 10 acres.

I still pay the taxes every year.

And there it sits.

The dream is still out there somewhere, but right now I can't see a clear path from where I am to where I hoped I'd be.

And I think a lot of us have something like that.

Something we prayed for.

Something we worked toward.

Something we thought would have happened by now.

It's easy to become so focused on what hasn't happened yet that we stop appreciating what already has.

That's what I was thinking about this morning.

I may not be living on that land.

There aren't any goats walking around yet.

But we still own it.

The dream isn't dead.

And I'm still here.

My wife is still beside me.

I have people I love.

I have another morning.

And I have another opportunity to move—even if it's only one small step—in the direction of the life I believe I'm supposed to live.

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” — Psalm 118:24

Gratitude doesn't mean pretending everything worked out.

It doesn't mean giving up on the things we're still praying and working for.

Sometimes gratitude is simply being able to look at what hasn't happened yet...

and still recognize everything God has already given us.

Maybe that's part of Design too.

Slow down.

Look around.

Notice what's still good.

And keep going.

So before another week begins, I'm going to remind myself of three things I'm grateful for today.

My family.

Another day to work toward the life I envision.

And yes...

I'm grateful for 10 acres of woods sitting several hours away doing absolutely nothing. 😂

It's still there.

And so is the dream.

What are three things you're grateful for today?

Have a great Sunday. I'm grateful you took a few minutes to spend with me.

“Take some time…
Clear your mind…
Find another reason why.”

Yesterday I heard a song called “Find Another Reason” by Jonah and the Lion in a movie.

Those words stopped me.

I went back and listened to it again.

And again...

Honestly, I've probably listened to it a hundred times since yesterday.

Maybe because I know what it's like to lose your “why.”

For 12 years, I was addicted to prescription opioids.

At my worst, I was taking nearly a thousand pills a month.

And here's something people who haven't experienced addiction don't always understand:

Toward the end, I wasn't taking them to get high.

I was taking them just to feel normal.

My health was falling apart.
My finances were wrecked.
I'd been hospitalized twice.

And still I kept going.

That's the power of dependency.

The thing that's hurting you somehow convinces you that you can't live without it.

Eventually, though, I had to stop.

I had to clear enough of the noise to ask myself a very simple question:

Is this really how I want to live?

The answer was no.

But deciding I didn't want that life anymore didn't magically fix everything.

I had to find another reason why.

Another reason to get up.
Another reason to take care of myself.
Another reason to believe there might still be something good ahead of me.

And slowly, there was.

I started changing what I put into my body.

I started getting outside.

I started paying attention to my thoughts.

I started reconnecting with God, nature, gratitude, purpose... and eventually myself.

That's why those few words hit me so hard:

Take some time.
Clear your mind.
Find another reason why.

If you're struggling with addiction or you're early in recovery, you don't have to figure out the rest of your life today.

Maybe you just need to find one reason why today.

One person.
One dream.
One thing you haven't experienced yet.
One reason to keep moving forward.

Then tomorrow, find another.

And if music speaks to you the way it does to me, look up “Find Another Reason” by Jonah and the Lion.

Turn it up.

Listen to the words.

Maybe you'll hear something in it that you need today, too.

I'm grateful you're here reading this.

If you've been through recovery yourself, what became your reason why?

Someone else may need to hear it today.

“Take some time…
Clear your mind…
Find another reason why.”

I heard this song yesterday in a movie soundtrack, and those words stopped me.

I actually went back and listened to it again. And again....

Because sometimes I think that's exactly what we need to do.

Take some time.

Get away from the noise for a minute.

Clear our minds.

And ask ourselves WHY we're doing what we're doing.

Why am I going in this direction?

Is this still the life I want?

Is this moving me closer to the person I want to become… or further away?

That's really what Drift is about in the Five D's.

We rarely wake up one morning completely lost.

We drift there slowly.

One decision.
One distraction.
One compromise at a time.

And sometimes the first step back isn't some huge life-changing decision.

Sometimes it's simply taking some time… clearing your mind… and finding another reason why.

Maybe even getting outside for a little while.

Walk.
Sit under a tree.
Watch the water.
Leave the phone alone for a few minutes.

Nature has a way of quieting some of the noise we've gotten used to living with.

And I think that's when we can begin to hear what's really going on inside of us.

You don't have to have everything figured out today.

Just ask yourself:

Am I still headed where I actually want to go?

And if the answer is no…

maybe it's time to change direction.

I'm sharing the song because I absolutely fell in love with this message yesterday.

Give it a listen.

And then tell me…

What do you need to take some time away from so you can clear your mind?

Judah & the Lion - Find Another Reason Why "Find Another Reason Why" off of Judah & the Lion's record, Revival...