Serious Business

Living gratefully today, I recommit to recovery work and give thanks for those who walk with me on this journey. Alcoholism is a daily disease. Am I doing my daily recovery work?

I am also thankful for my siblings and offer special wishes today for my oldest brother Linus. He turns 70 today. Happy Birthday Linus! 

I consider each birthday a gift. These milestones have been more on my mind this year. Our mom turned 90 back in February. Linus is 70 today. Our youngest sibling Lee is already 50. I marvel at how quickly these decades have amassed. And I pause in humble gratitude that I survived my active drinking years. 

Age milestones feel different than recovery milestones. Recovery is more about today. Sure, we celebrate sobriety and mark anniversaries, but we try to keep our focus on today. If I am living in yesterday's regret or tomorrow's worries I am missing much today. And I am opening myself to attack from a patient and deadly foe. 

This is serious business. Earnest effort each day is a good safeguard against the very cunning disease of alcoholism. It has been a year of serious limitations for all of us with the COVID-19 pandemic. For myself and others who come together as a recovery community, we have had to look at new ways to connect. 

There is such good energy when we share presence. A Zoom meeting or phone call is valuable and there is certainly supportive energy there, but it leaves me wanting more. One of the biggest losses of the pandemic for me has been this loss of shared community to support one another in our recovery. We are getting back to it slowly, and that means so much to me.

My recovery work begins with me and my connection with God/Great Spirit. This work can be done anywhere, anytime. The pandemic pushed us to be more creative. Sadly, it pushed some back to the bottle.

Serious business. Serious work. Meaningful results, day by day. Some days it is just barely survival. Other days a dose of clarity opens new doors. It all matters.