Daily Missives

When things aren’t going so well for me, my tendency is to isolate. Instead, I should get outside of myself and help someone else. When things are going well for me, I should get outside of myself and help someone else. Helping someone else is good for my soul. It relieves me of my self-centeredness.…

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Some people try to get clean and sober and they fail. The grip of addiction seems too great and they relapse. I have never heard someone who relapsed express joy in their relapse. Sometimes guilt and shame keep them from trying again. Sometimes it’s fear of being judged by others. Getting clean and sober is…

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We cannot save someone who isn’t ready to be saved. In the throes of my addiction, I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t think straight. Every waking moment was influenced by a substance. I was desperate.  When I was thrown a lifeline, I grabbed onto it. I didn’t know where it would take me but…

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When I stopped drinking, it was the scariest time in my life. I didn’t know how to function without alcohol. People who had gone through it showed me what to do. They told me how to think. They listened to me. They had been there. They all told me to hit my knees and ask…

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Alcohol and drugs used to be central to my existence. When I removed them from my life, I thought there would be no reason to continue living. I have been shown a way to live happily without using substances to numb my feelings. I have learned to live “life on life’s terms” – the good…

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The only thing I can do about the past is correct my mistakes and learn from my experiences. That’s it. I can’t dwell on the past because that takes me away from now and upsets my inner peace. When I am in turmoil, I am weak. When I am at peace, I am strong.  …

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There are times when it seems that everything is going wrong, and that I can’t catch a break. When the frustration builds and starts to seep through in how I treat others, I need to keep one thing in mind… I didn’t pick up a drink or a drug today. For someone like me, it…

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Instead of being judgmental of others, perhaps I should look at myself. The way I treat others reflects how I feel about myself. Perhaps what I don’t like needs to be changed within me. I must continue to try to recognize my flaws and be conscious of how they affect my behavior. I need God’s…

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As I get older, the big deadline I am working against is time. I have gotten to the age where I have more days behind me than ahead of me. There is no certainty of when my calendar runs out. Thus, each day becomes more valuable than the last. Time has become a commodity that…

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“… No human power could have relieved our alcoholism …That God could and would if He were sought.” I tried a number of ways to moderate my abuse of substances, but every time I tried I failed. The outcome was always the same. I could never completely stop on my own. I was trapped. Turning…

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