29 Years Young
Today I am grateful for safe travels over the weekend and the gift of time with family I don't get to see very often. It was meaningful and special time together.
More on my travels and that family time coming soon. Today is a day to celebrate recovery. It is the anniversary of the day my own recovery from alcoholism began in 1989. A day of deep gratitude and thoughtful reflection. It is a day that may never have come if not for friends, family, recovery connections, and the grace and guidance of a loving Great Spirit.
My sincere thank you to all who make my daily recovery a road I want to keep traveling.
I am thinking about 29 years young today. If I hadn't gotten sober, I wouldn't be feeling 53, but much older probably, if I was even still alive. The healthy body, mind, and spirit I have most days would have been further shattered over the years.
I would be an empty, unhealthy shell. Instead, I am continuing to grow and learn, to recover and construct a better life than I could have ever hoped for when I was drinking and slowly dying inside.
It is said an alcoholic stops maturing emotionally when they start drinking. I was already lagging behind in emotional maturity before I picked up a drink at 14 and was captivated by the temporary relief and release of inhibitions. I guess that makes my emotional age 43, if you add 14 and 29.
I know that I am much healthier in all realms of wellness because of the recovery lessons I have learned and because of the daily habits I adhere to in hopes of keeping a subtle and patient disease in a state of remission. I have many teachers, human and other.
Alcoholism is a disease of perception. As an active alcoholic, I perceived myself and the world in ways that begged for me to keep drinking. Alcohol and oblivion were my escape from tortured thoughts and self-hatred.
The grace of a Great Spirit and the people and circumstances put in my life that led me to recovery are tremendous gifts. Today is a day to acknowledge them, and to practice genuine humility and gratitude. Today is the true gift, these hours ahead. Pause and relish them.
More on my travels and that family time coming soon. Today is a day to celebrate recovery. It is the anniversary of the day my own recovery from alcoholism began in 1989. A day of deep gratitude and thoughtful reflection. It is a day that may never have come if not for friends, family, recovery connections, and the grace and guidance of a loving Great Spirit.
My sincere thank you to all who make my daily recovery a road I want to keep traveling.
I am thinking about 29 years young today. If I hadn't gotten sober, I wouldn't be feeling 53, but much older probably, if I was even still alive. The healthy body, mind, and spirit I have most days would have been further shattered over the years.
I would be an empty, unhealthy shell. Instead, I am continuing to grow and learn, to recover and construct a better life than I could have ever hoped for when I was drinking and slowly dying inside.
It is said an alcoholic stops maturing emotionally when they start drinking. I was already lagging behind in emotional maturity before I picked up a drink at 14 and was captivated by the temporary relief and release of inhibitions. I guess that makes my emotional age 43, if you add 14 and 29.
I know that I am much healthier in all realms of wellness because of the recovery lessons I have learned and because of the daily habits I adhere to in hopes of keeping a subtle and patient disease in a state of remission. I have many teachers, human and other.
Alcoholism is a disease of perception. As an active alcoholic, I perceived myself and the world in ways that begged for me to keep drinking. Alcohol and oblivion were my escape from tortured thoughts and self-hatred.
The grace of a Great Spirit and the people and circumstances put in my life that led me to recovery are tremendous gifts. Today is a day to acknowledge them, and to practice genuine humility and gratitude. Today is the true gift, these hours ahead. Pause and relish them.
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