Skip to main content

Preface

Preface

I started this blog 4 years ago but quickly lost interest. In hindsight my motivation at the time was wrong. I have grown immensely since then and my life has shifted into a reality I didn’t dream possible. My intention in beginning this blog anew is to share my experience, hope, and strength that it may be of benefit to those in recovery. 

        I am writing this not only to potentially help others in their journey but to better understand and articulate my beliefs; to explore and study all the paths I have traveled with a greater sense of perspective; examining my interests, passions, and my hopes for the world we live in. so that I  may be a better human being. I am but a simple layperson, I do not claim any expertise; what worked for me might not work for anyone else.

        To begin with I am recovering alcoholic with over 28 years of sobriety and still go to meetings. This fact more than anything else shapes who I am. I share from the standpoint of being a recovering alcoholic, but I am from the school of thought that says “liquor was but a symptom” *. I also have suffered from problems other than alcoholism, primarily depression and generalized anxiety disorder. I have found that simply being sober and staying away from a drink was not enough; AA was great for getting and maintain my sobriety, but I needed more.

         I used the program as a springboard in my quest for self-actualization and  the evolution of my soul. My journey has had many false starts, but for the past year I feel I have finally been on the right path.  Although my recovery and spirituality extends beyond Alcoholics Anonymous, my foundations are strongly built upon the AA program. I do hope that those who read this blog are able to take something positive from what I have to say. I would love to hear from you.


        One final note, I write with my young sons in mind, hoping one day they too will read this and know who I really am.


* Alcoholics Anonymous page 67

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Recovery and the Obstacles of Mental Health.

I am continuing my exploration of fear and anxiety in recovery.  This topic has been on my mind a lot in recent weeks. I have always considered anxiety to be my primary issue. It’s no less serious than my alcoholism. Once I manage some sober time under my belt I no longer felt I had a drinking problem, but I had a thinking problem. It's a pretty common phrase in the rooms, usually meaning the way we think about drinking or even about how we live our lives in sobriety. I had no idea how to live, let alone live sober. I have always been envious of those in AA whose only problem is alcoholism. Their lives always seemed to click for them after they got sober. But that never my experience. I was baffled, often asking why recovery didn’t work for me. Why did I have to suffer?  I didn't even know what I was wrong with me until I had six years sober. It was then I finally sought outside help. I hate using the term mental health to describe my life struggles. It connot...

Acceptance: Learning To Find Peace Of Mind In The World

  "And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, It is because I find some person, place, thing, situation -- Some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, And I can find no serenity until I accept That person, place, thing, or situation As being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God's world by mistake. Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes." Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition p. 417 I recently returned from a vacation in the Outer Banks. Going away on holiday is new to me. I rarely took them in the past. Staycations were more my speed. Being away from home caused me more anxiety than any trip was worth.  My girlfriend has helped show me the erro...

It’s Never Too Late To Find Who You’re Meant Be

“Someone once told me the definition of Hell: The last day you have on earth, the person you became will meet the person you could have become.”– Anonymous I am an introvert. I like to think. I like to think a lot! It’s not uncommon for me to be lost in thought for hours, following my stream of consciousness wherever it may lead. I used to think so much that my first sponsor banned me from thinking during the first year of my sobriety. Telling me my best thinking made a mess out of my life. Who was I to disagree?  After a year he allowed surface thinking.  My mind always caused me trouble. Much of my recovery has been spent thinking. I had such grand plans for myself.  I loved the Navy. It was going to be my career. I was going be accepted into an officer’s program and rise through the ranks. I was intelligent enough, but I couldn’t get out of my own way. It’s been over 20 years since I have served, but there are times I look back with regret. Wishing I had ta...