Blog 3

I wish I had some extraordinary family tradition. Although, most of our get togetherness are full of laughter, nothing exciting stands out. However, I do have  tradition that is different, which is that is spending most my free  time in a spiritual journey of recovery.  When I am not at working or going to school, I am surrounded by recovering alcoholics and addicts. I am highly involved with helping women who struggle with addiction and alcoholism.  I go to 12 Step Meetings, where they practice living an honest, spiritual and sober life. I have three years of sobriety and my “drug of choice” was alcohol.  I don’t think it really matters what your drug of choice because they  all involve an “obsession” of  the mind and end with powerlessness.

This has  been both a  painful and beautiful journey.  I have watched people recover and become compassionate human beings, I have also seen people who have succumbed to addiction. I know several people who have died due to the Heroin Epidemic. One of my closest friends is out there  and i can’t talk to her. She is not the same person i knew when she was sober( none of us are). In my own opinion,  there is a strange comparison between alcoholism and the story Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I can’t think of a better description of addiction.

Oddly enough, there are  the  12 Steps and 12 Traditions that assist with this spiritual walk in these meetings. It is suggested that going through all twelve steps, getting a sponsor, and helping others are the keystones to recovery. It also suggests to have a “Higher Power.” There are plenty of agnostics in the program,  it  simply states in the book of Alcoholics Anonymous ,  “having a God of our own understanding”, and realizing we are not God. There are Buddhist, Jews, Christians, etc. . There is no discrimination on religions. Just a group of people trying to stay sober.

I have failed on my journey to abstain from alcohol and I have succeeded. I tried to get sober when i was 22,  but I hadn’t reached my bottom. My  last sobriety date was when i was July 5th, 2013.  These people  and meetings taught me that the only way to get out of my own head and misery is to help another alcoholic, and to be grateful for whatever i have.  It basically comes down to selfishness which we trade for selflessness.

My daughters usually go on Sundays with me and most my friends are recovering alcoholics or addicts. My children have a wide diversity of knowing people of all walks of life because alcoholism doesn’t discriminate .  My oldest daughter,  once told me that she told everyone at school that i was an alcoholic, of course her teachers seemed immediately  concerned. However, when she talks about alcoholics she is referring to those who don’t drink anymore. My point is,t the only alcoholics she knows are the ones that don’t drink anymore. Unlike some stereotypes, of  an alcoholic with a brown bag that sleeps underneath a bridge.  She was proud of these people, because they are our friends and family.  We drink Coffee and smoke cigarettes and we have a lot of fun doing it.