I missed the point in many things during my active addiction. Clarity was not on my side. Now during my sober days, things pop into my mind and I get it. Just think how much easier my day to day life would have been if I had gotten it back then. The fact that I missed the point back then makes me feel really good about seeing the point now.
Continue Reading A few weeks ago, I agreed to lead a service of recovery that happens every Friday night in Memphis, Tennessee. It’s something that I never miss. Created and led by a reverend named John, this is the most awesome thing I’ve run across in recovery. We even have Grammy award-winning musicians play for us! It’s a big deal. Most often I leave with one thought: WOW! The message is in line with the 12 steps but blended in is great music, good food, artwork, a little prayer, a little silence and a huge presence of acceptance and belonging. John is a singer, songwriter, musician, theologian, reverend and much more. How could I ever fill his shoes?
Continue Reading I enjoy the luxury of getting up most mornings and not having to rush out the door to get anywhere. Listening to the birds, watching the butterflies and hearing the water fountain gurgle makes for a leisurely morning on the patio and seems to make my 1 cup of instant coffee taste fantastic! Believe me I am not used to this and I cherish these times. It’s another promise coming true!
Continue Reading Recently I was asked to speak at a life lessons class at a treatment center in accordance with my role as a lead advocate for Heroes in Recovery (HIR). The appropriate presentation was unclear to me. My idea of this grassroots movement has changed quite a bit in the past year. When I accepted my position with HIR, my vision of a hero in recovery was someone else, not me.
Continue Reading There are basically two kinds of deadlines, those that YOU MAKE and those that LIFE MAKES FOR YOU. Agreeing to be an advocate for HIR was a big thing for me. It was the first real commitment I had made in sobriety— except for the time I promised Sallie Mae Henson on the playground that I would be her best friend forever. I think I was six years old; I was sober at six! Recovery is what I’m passionate about these days. I took my position and my deadlines seriously. The past 2 and a half years were filled with everything I had ever wanted to do but didn’t have the time to do before.
Continue Reading In active addiction, my connections with life were completely severed. I excised all else from my soul. My priority was “to anesthesize the pain of living, to ease the passage of the day with some purchased relief.” Russel Brand gets credit for those words.
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