Leaving a Legacy

I really want to share with you a couple of the lessons I learned long ago that completely changed my life. You see, I used to look at the lives of others and feel cheated. I would see the amazing vacations they went on the fun things they did and get jealous. I disliked people simply because they were from families that had money. Then one day, I woke up and realized a few things.

Long-Term Recovery: The Gratitude List

I used to have horrible mornings, and they would lead to incredibly horrible days. I would set my alarm clock for when I needed to wake up, but it was my daily pattern to hit snooze several times before getting out of bed. When I would finally get out of bed, I would be running late. That would lead to me throwing on clothes, leaving work with neither a prepared lunch nor breakfast. If I was lucky, I would grab a pop tart while I was headed out the door. If I didn’t have one of those, I would stop at McDonalds or just go without eating breakfast.

Moving from Sobriety to Recovery with 7 Simple Additions

I often explain the difference between sobriety and recovery to people. For people who never struggled with addictions, they do not understand the two are different. In one of the fellowships, they have a clever way of presenting the difference by posing a question: 

"What do you get when you sober up a drunken horse thief?"

Long-Term Recovery: The Gratitude List

I sat with my family, opening presents Christmas morning while sipping hot tea and thought about how much my life has changed. I was satisfied spending time with my family, watching movies and having a family day at home. I was grateful for all I had instead of focusing on what I didn't have. I was content and happy. It was not always that way.

I used to wake up after hitting the snooze  button several times. I would get dressed stressed. I would skip breakfast, or grab something greasy and unhealthy on the way to work. People driving the speed limit or slower would instantly kick in my road rage because I was running late and they obviously could care less about it. My mornings sucked, and it bled into the rest of my day.