Inventory !!!!!!!!!!!

Today I am thinking about success. Recently I have been looking at my life and wondering what else I can do to be a success. What I have realized after I did a little inventory is this, I am already a success anything else I am blessed with is a gift. What it took for me to accept this is very simple, I took my inventory! See some of us in recovery forget what we are suppose to do, our literature tells us that we continued to take the inventory process, we as human beings have a forgetter and find it hard to remember what it took to get to where we are at.
 See I am so afraid of my past that I will apply to my life everyday what it took to get here that is positive. I refuse to be that person in recovery who rests on his laurels, if I do that my past will become my reality and today I am not only unwilling, but deathly afraid to live my past again. See my past is just that and I use it to influence me to move forward, I use it to help others never live that way!
 See a person like me can never stop living the 12 steps because if I do I am DEAD. There is no in-between for a guy like me, I must be living this program to the fullest or I am lying to you and to me! There is a price to be paid for this life I have today and for what I lived before and I not only have paid it but continue to pay it for this beautiful life I have today.
 Today I align myself with powerful people, people that empower me, people that I can learn from, people that  what more out of life. I seek to get on top of life because it is crowded at the bottom. I will continue to grow I will continue to redefine myself, what must I change daily, what doesn't fit! My HP has instilled this in me, with my HP 's will and mine aligned properly my life becomes better and better. I say yes to my future, I say yes to my dreams, I say yes to my inventory! It doesn't matter what happened to me it matters what I do about it. Let my past be that, my future is unlimited!
 DO WORK!

Easy Does It.

Today was my first day back to my routine of exercise in at least 90 days and I was reminded of easy does it as soon as I sat down into the rower to start! I heard all my trainers voices in my head saying easy does it Michael, and then my two sponsors faces appeared and voices saying easy does it buddy! See its funny how my days consist of huge similarities with my personal life and my clients, today was a very stressful yet a very complete day. During my workout I used what I have been taught in the rooms and by my sponsors as did I from my trainers in crossfit! See easy does it is interchangeable in life, this is the great news when remaining teachable!
 Todays stress of the day around what I do was immense but again the term easy does it jumped into my head and I relayed it to my friend, the day was full of the  possibility of bad decisions and all I kept telling him was easy does it friend think about today and make the right decision for today and your future will be fine. Today started with me getting back on track with my body and taking suggestion and gaurding against another injury by retraining my thinking and going easy and passing that on to a friend in despair, when we remain in the solution and stay teachable our lives change. I have learned that the solution is not in going hard all the time, we must be smart, we must train smart, we must live in the now to live in the future!

Love And Tolerance.

So today I was slapped in the face with societies judgements and to be honest it cut like a knife! But how life has funny twists and ways for me to use the tools given to me to carry the message of hope and change to people! See I had a client with me today when I was accused of stealing, now I can honestly say I was furious but my HP stepped in and said to me STOP Michael, Stop, fight your way through the demons of your past right now and bring this man hope for the world, show him that people change and even when we make mistakes all we have to do is make amends and hold our heads high and move forward and learn from this.
 See today was not a test, I don't believe in tests I believe in hard work and change,  my HP has instilled in me a new way of life and that is LOVE AND TOLERANCE by hard work, today I was given another opportunity to be the man I want to be and that is a man of love a man of integrity a man that lives by principles a man of change! Today I was given an oppurtuntiy to not only show change but to walk what I talk to a person who needs to see change, my HP gives me gifts in my life now and I either accept these gifts or throw them away, I am not in the habit of throwing gifts away these days, I may not always like the gifts but I use them and take advantage of every opportunity to grow and not to fail! I don't ask whats wrong with something today I ask whats right with it!
 Today was a chance to show Love And Tolerance to someone that needed to see that change happens one day at a time, see the old me wanted to say do you know who I am, do you know what I use to do, that all flashed in my brain before I reacted, that is the gift I was given today, an opportunity to think before I act, and not act as in something fake but show how I really am today, it isn't an act it is the man I am today, by no means am I cured, but what I am today is a man of integrity and principles, a man who carries the message of HOPE, the message of CHANGE, the message of LOVE AND TOLERANCE! Thank you world for my struggles you can't out work me!
DO WORK!

FAITH

On this weekend of this Holiday weekend I reflect on faith, as I sit here on my current assignment everything that comes to mind daily is faith. See faith that those who have come before me and those who have passed did not do so for nothing! I have the faith that everything happens for a reason, my HP is in charge of life! If tomorrow wasn't promised what would you give for today? Would you spend today thinking of you or someone else! My faith has guided me to others, my first instinct is others, there is a price to be paid for this and I believe I have paid that price and for that God has instilled in me faith that my will is aligned with him and his work is what I do.
 Sometimes while on the road away from my two special ladies, my loves, my wife and daughter  I question my HP and ask am I being selfish by being away to carry his message and then I see a sign, usually in my clients actions that reminds me I am uniquely qualified to help someone just like me and if I stop falling forward and falling backward then I am selfish and I have lost faith in his direction for me and my family! Moving forward is his path, he has my future and my family in mind, I am not alone nor am I meant to be alone, I am a father, a husband, a friend and I am meant to carry his message of recovery to the masses it is his plan not mine, I just must remain in faith that is plan is "THE PLAN", no one said it would be easy.
 My family and I have the faith and believe this is his will for us and all that happens is not in vain but in faith! I DO WORK every day because the future isn't promised only today is!

Working Out The Mind.

My mind needs more exercise than my body! My mind needs constant challenge constant changing and constant growth.  For me my physicality is and has been used as an excuse to not expand my mind, to rely on my look and presence as to not have to engage in challenging situations or conversations.
 Today my mind leads the way as I am confident not arrogant with my ability to have meaningful conversation with my fellows and business associates. They tell us in our literature that we used to lead with our chin, well today with constant work and growth I lead with my mind not my chin.
 See with constant work and A willingness to remain teachable I have evolved into a complete human being that is focused on growth and helping others. We know that our purpose on earth is to be of maximum service to others but that is not possible without the willingness to do the work to be that person! Are you doing the work? Are you challenged daily mentally and physically and if so do you face them or settle? For me I refuse to be that old me ever again,  challenges are welcomed with determination and hard work, I always say to people you may have more natural talent than me more money more this or that but you will not out work me. My work ethic is like no other you have ever seen, I was not blessed with financial security or family help and love what I have today is because my faith in a higher power and the man I have become is because of my HIGHER POWER and the work he guided me to do and then I was blessed with a family and love! I am purely driven to be a man of love a friend a father a husband,  all if these are learned not given, I have worked at being this man, it was not and is not easy but it is worth every minute. I have found my purpose,  my why! All by challenging my mind! I will live to my full potential. I am powerful, not ego driven I am god driven it is necessary!  I will not settle for my past I am blessed to live for today!
DO WORK!

Second Half Of Step One.

So in my journey's across the country I am always reminded of step one. I get to really understand this step in my life but also experience other's unmanageable life and help them see it and redefine success in their own life.
 See when I got sober this was the hardest part of step one for me because being powerless over alcohol was easy to admit but saying I needed help with my life management skills was hard because of ego, see even with all the bad consequences very apparent in my life I still wouldn't surrender my way.
 For me I needed to see the consequences and really feel them and I don't mean going to jail I just mean see and feel it in my life, these are not always jail situations but say not being able to pay bills due to irresponsible spending. See when I couldn't go do something because of this I felt it and was embarrassed and ashamed and never wanted to feel this way again.  For me not being able to provide for my family due to my selfish acts would destroy me so this is easy for me now, but for those I am around guiding through this process of change I must let them feel it and not bale them out but support them in change to never feel this way again and show them where they may have went wrong and change what they did and redefine what is unmanageable in there life.
 For me when one said your life is unmanageable the first thing I did was puff my chest up and lead with ego, today I want a solution and immediately go into action of change because I don't want to feel the pain I once felt. Today I share my experience with my fellow's but I do not enable them so they don't feel the pain because pain is temporary and provides an opportunity to learn a new way to live and in this journey one needs help and support but also must feel to change. Being numb and resistant to change is lack of surrender and an incomplete step 1 there are two parts in step 1 and we must be thorough if we want a better way!
DO WORK EVERY DAY TO LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

The Land Of Familiarity Is Dead.

I have learned to leap higher. This to me is all about trusting me, walking by faith not by sight. I have decided that reaching deep and feeling that pain pushes me to greatness, I don't mean pain as in push yourself to injury I mean pain as in damn this hurts but I feel strong!
 You know that moment of clarity in a work out when you push past the pain to achieve what you have been scared to do, see "FEAR" holds us all back but we all have that moment in our lives when that fear no longer is sufficient, that fear holds no weight and we break free and create new possibilities for ourselves! Impossible is nothing!
 I relate my recovery the same as I do in my physical fitness. I have moments of clarity in both that are so very simaler that if I want change I must change, if I want the pain to stop then I must do it right and remain in the solution not in the problem, these to areas in peoples lives are so simaler and we neglect to see it at times. When things get hard we as humans sometimes look for the easy way out and get the same results every time but when the moment of clarity happens there is no looking back, there is never rest easy, todays successes are just that "TODAY" , the land of familiarity is dead for me today, I want to do better today than I did yesterday just like in my recovery what I did today holds no weight for tomorrow. If all my recovery was about only what I did once for my recovery I wouldn't be here today, the man I was yesterday is not who I am today, I am constantly changing evolving for the better, for greatness in recovery and in my physical fitness yesterday was great but let's make today better!
 I am comfortable today with uncomfortable, I am willing today to face that pain and change!

Constantly Growing!

So I have learned lately that my time is priceless! I have learned lately that we bow before no one.  I have been living with purpose. This was taught to me by the steps. Separate what you do from who  you are, this statement rubbed me the wrong way when first confronted by it. I have made mistakes but I do not let that define me. The specific step that has made this change for me is very simple, it is my tenth step. You will read my blogg's maybe and see a common thing and that is working the 10th step daily, this step saves me from the insanity of self.

 See without this step I am selfish, self centered, and only live for me. I have learned that life without being of maximum service is pointless for me, not only pointless but dangerous for a person like me, I am dangerous for me, when its about me its wrong when its about others its right and I am at peace and lives blessings continue to sit right in front of me to step forward to them, they are not given I must work for them and that is my 10th step.

 See I started the blogg with a few sentences that may have confused some but when you read the 10th step you see that without the 10th step I do not learn these things. I learned where I am is temporary, I will not be there for the rest of my life, as long as my drive is progress, progress is maintained by inventory. There is no reason for a plan "B" it distracts from my plan "A", my plan is constant work with my HP and his will and to maintain that I must do the steps that are required to maintain which was so freely given to me.

Recovery From Ego!

When it comes to the body and the mind I tend to hear one  but not listen to the other! This is a mistake that I continue to pay for dearly. The mind tell's me keep working don't quit, the ego tells me you wont out work me, you wont out rep me, I wont lose!
 This is a huge defect of character that is progress not perfection, I continually pass the level of healthy with obsession and danger, my ego says you are good but the reality is I am not. It takes a humbling moment to recognize this character defect for this alcoholic. See the humbling moment is called injury caused by ego! I find that many times in recovery I was on fire I was on that "Pink Cloud", but that's just it there was no we in this statement only I! Our program teaches us that without "We" there is no "Us" and there is no "Me".
 I must accept help, I must accept that always going "Head First", is not the answer, we must take guidance, we must listen to our body, we must not always push the limits of our body to an unhealthy state, stick to the direction that gives you the results, never let ego run the show, when we see results and let ego take over we injure ourselves because we push to an unhealthy state. I do the same in my recovery and then my sponsor brings me back to reality, this isn't a sprint he tells me, it is a marathon take direction and outlast the competition with hard work and daily inventory, this applies to recovery and health, Mind, Body, and Soul.
 We are a people of instant gratification and no hard work! When I found recovery I found that I must do the work to get the results and that wasn't always instant some times it was months down the road even years! Now with constant work and guidance I "Listen", trial error and injury are the lessons I have learned, lessons in which I could have only learned this way because my "EGO' was running the show. I stopped living my dream because FEAR,I wasn't seeing what I wanted because I wasn't seeing instant results! Fear kills all DREAMS! DO WORK!

A Program Of Action!

I learned in recovery that alcohol and drugs are not my problem. The problem is my thinking. Though that concept seemed strange to me in the beginning, I know how true that it is today. If alcohol and drugs were my problem, then detox would have fixed me, right? But it didn't. Neither did jail, or treatment, or any of the other things which separated me physically from those substances for brief periods of time.

So now I know that the problem is my mind, but what is the solution? My friend Bill J. often says "I can't think myself into better thinking, I have to act myself into better thinking". I believe that he is correct, but what action is required to effect this necessary change in thinking?

The book Alcoholics Anonymous describes the results of working the steps in three distinctly different, yet synonymous terms; spiritual awakening, spiritual experience, and psychic change. Psychic change literally means a change in thinking, and it has been my experience that working the 12 steps and incorporating them into my daily life has done just that.

My perception is not the same as it was before I worked the steps. Following up the decision that I made to try a new way of life in the third step, with the "vigorous course of action" as it is outlined in our book, has not only helped me build a relationship with a God of my understanding, it has profoundly changed the way I view the world and all who are in it.

The result of this change in thinking has been nothing less than miraculous: I haven't found it necessary to pick up a drink or a drug no matter what life has put before me!

Faith

Faith without work's is dead. This term to some is just that, they reality is this term is very important to us in our recovery.  I have learned that it is so easy to simply say it but they truth of them matter is this, faith in my higher power and this program takes work, I must remain diligent, I must pocket my pride and begin taking action every day and trust that my higher power's will is the path I should follow.

The continuous work I must do daily to maintain sobriety is the faith I have in what I do for my recovery.  I believe I must do the work to have them faith, results are what I see in my life, I don't always like them, but I do have faith that this is what my higher power's will is for me, and trust that to be of maximum service to others I must align my will to my HP and maintain the daily work to remain happy joyous and free.

GOAT

When I was introduced to Crossfit I learned a term that baffled me for some time. The term was "GOAT", now I thought I understood this term, greatest of all time! In the world of crossfit it means work on your weaknesses. Now in recovery I believe our character defects and step ten are the same thing, our daily reprieve from the insanity of life.
 My mind, my self will, doesn't want me to do battle with my GOAT, my self will doesn't want me to look at my character defects, self will wants me to fall to pieces to give up, hard times have not come to stay they have come to pass! I have learned that if life knocks me down I land on my back so I can look up because if I can look up I can get up and continue the fight. Easy is not an option I must remain working on my GOAT to further myself in health and recovery. Do not ever let some one tell you, you cant do something. I use the pain to push me to greatness. If I fail I fail forward! The Program has taught me that progress not perfection and in healthy living I have adapted the same thought process in my fitness as in recovery. I don't let the distraction distract me from my GOAT,Ii will conquer every obstacle in my way mind, body, and soul with a little surrender and hard work and probably a little pain, all blessings come with a price the price is hard work! DO WORK family, make it a great day! WHEN YOU ARE GREAT YOU ATTRACT GREAT WHEN YOU ARE AVERAGE YOU ATTRACT AVERAGE!

Humility

Step 7's spiritual focus is humility, asking a higher power to do something that cannot be done by self-will or mere determination. I have found that when my conscious contact is in tune that "WE" cannot fail, I say we because to me this is applying step 7 in my life, this is trusting someone or something greater than myself. I believe that I have been taught to never trust to never surrender to be the man. I was taught this by my family, this wasn't wrong this was just the way my family was raised and they did the best they could.
 This resentment stuck with me for years until I surrendered to my Higher Power, until I trusted something other than my will. My will constantly brought me to crossroads of pain and sadness and despair, I cannot live like this anymore, I step aside and ask for guidance by surrendering and living a new way, living by principles. Does this mean I am always in that place of serenity? Most of the time I am, when I am not it is as simple as taking a moment to surrender and stepping out of my higher powers way and aligning my trust and faith in something greater than myself.
 I have found that our way of life is not for the weak and uncommitted, I had to be willing to live another way and trust in something bigger than me and do the work it takes to find peace. There is nothing in this world we cannot have or do if we are willing to do this work! This program is not for people who need it or want it, it is for people who DO WORK!

Running For Recovery

I remember that at about six months sober, I began to get depressed. Knowing that my disease loves to come at me in the form of grief, sadness, and melancholy, I started making phone calls right away. I'd been down this road before, and it ended in relapse and a jail cell in Marion County. There was no way that I was going to let that happen again!

I received two suggestions, one from my grand sponsor, and one from my sponsor. My grand sponsor told me to start asking Him to reveal His purpose to me in my prayers. Maybe I'll write about how that worked out on a Faithful Friday if I'm ever asked to guest write here again. Then my sponsor told me to go home and run a mile. "Really?", I asked. "Really!", he replied.

He went on to explain to me how the years of drinking and drugging had seriously affected my brain chemistry. Alcohol, opiates, cocaine; they all do different things like diminishing our serotonin levels, and changing how neurons react, and blah, and blah, and blah. The good news he told me, is that the brain has an amazing capacity to heal itself, but it's up to us to do some healthy things to help it along. I don't remember all of the biochemistry behind it, I'm not a professional like he is.

But I believed him, and I didn't want to relapse again, so I went home, strapped on an old pair of sneakers that I had laying around (it was an old pair of Sketchers, hardly fit to be used as running shoes), and jiggled my way around the neighborhood.

And it hurt. I was still smoking at the time, and I had put on a few pounds since getting out of jail. I didn't have a lot of money, and my diet wasn't very good. I was working 3-11 at night in a hotel, and eating out of a microwave when I got home at midnight. I told my sponsor that it hurt, and he told me that it would get better. He said that my body would release these things called endorphins, and that I would soon feel better. He said I would rest better as my serotonin levels balanced out, and that I would feel more balanced.

I quit smoking, and I started eating better. Not a lot better, but better. I got some running shoes, and I kept doing it. And he was right, I began to feel better. Don't get me wrong, I haven't turned into some kind of health and fitness fanatic, but running every other day has become an integral part of my recovery lifestyle today.

It's about discipline, and taking care of the body that God gave me; the body that I abused for far too long. It's about continuing to be willing to go to any length to stay sober. And lastly, it's about living in the 11th step. My runs along Edgewater drive have become part of my meditation now, my God time. Body, Mind, Spirit!

Thanks for reading,

Glenn

Today's guest blogger Glenn Humphreys is the author of Widowhood, Grief, and Love after Loss, a blog about grief, loss, and recovery.

Running the Show!

Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.
The longer I stay sober and continue to work the steps of the program and do the inventory process that is required the more I recognize misery in others and feel sadness for them that continue to suffer.

I refuse to stand or sit in misery today, I do the work that is required daily to maintain serenity. Step three is is the foundation and the mortar for this Alcoholic, without this step I am concerned with others and there program, I am concerned with what they are doing wrong and not with what is right in front of me. This is a "WE" program but if I am not alright with me and leading with principles and integrity I am poisoning others around me and trying to run the 'SHOW".

When my serenity is high and life is good I am leading with principles in my life and well lets be honest we attract what we are.  I have learned in my short time in this world that if I continue asking whats wrong  instead of looking at whats right that I will continue to live in misery attract the same.

Running the show is not important to me today, peace and serenity are. I have learned that being afraid to fail is no longer a problem, it is just another opportunity to succeed and to succeed I must surrender!

Nothing Lost

People and situations will change, things will come and go in and out of your life. Yet nothing is ever lost. The love you know. Stays with you always, even when the person you love is no longer with you. The good things you do stay with you always, even when time has erased all physical evidence of them.

When you live in fear of losing something, then you never really have or experience it. When you avoid attempting anything because you fear failure, then failure is exactly what you get.

No good effort is ever wasted, for even if it fails to produce any outer value, the inner value is always there. Even when what you do is not recognized or reciprocated or appreciated, still you have had the priceless blessing of doing it.

If you constantly seek the validation of others, you will often be disappointed. Yet, when you live, love and act in each moment with the best that you have to give, the real value you create can never be diminished!

Surrender to Win-Fitness and Recovery

Surrender is versatile when it comes to the disease of addiction and physical fitness. In early recovery I found that in order to succeed I must surrender to a power greater than myself.  It took many trials and tribulations for me to understand that to succeed I must surrender. Early on I did not understand this, because I had always been taught never to surrender.  This became a new found freedom once I actually did, and I continue to do so every day now.

I have found the same experience in health and fitness. The two go hand in hand and in early recovery. Nurturing the mind, body, and soul are essential for happiness and freedom. I found early on, that in order to be happy with myself I needed a release.  I found that in physical fitness. I also found that if I don't surrender and train with the mindset of remaining teachable, I cannot make the gains I may want in the gym. The same goes for my recovery.  If I dont surrender and remain teachable, I will become stagnant in my recovery and I will take steps backwards instead of forwards.

Without healthy living and constant step work, I started to suffer.  Today I have learned a balance and have found a new freedom and happiness.  Without surrender none of this is possible.

Gratitude in Action

When I think about what I do daily for my recovery, I think about gratitude. To me gratitude is an action word, and is something I do for my recovery daily. The whole concept behind 12 step recovery is doing for others. This to me is the most crucial step, and one we must do daily. I think when we lose sight of this, and our lives get too busy for recovery, we are being selfish. I am never too busy to carry the message. If I ever am, then the reality of this is that the relapse has already begun.

Carrying step 12 to the best of my ability every day is vital; from opening a door for the old lady at the store, or taking the cart back in the grocery store parking lot. I think back on my day during my nightly recap every evening, and I can say that the most peace comes from doing for others.

My sponsor suggested long ago after I took my 4th step, that now the work begins and this is when you must stop being so selfish, and carry the message of 12 step recovery. I am constantly reminded every day when things get chaotic and I take my will back and then the phone rings from a member of the program that I am not in charge and my sole purpose is to help others. it never fails how my HP shows up and shows off in my life and keeps me doing step 12 daily. We are not here for us, we are here for others. If we lose that, we lose ourselves and anything we love dearly first!

For me and only me I must never lose sight of the sick and suffering, and I must remain in the trenches with my fellows in and out of recovery and share the message of hope and do step 12 every day! Make it a great day everyone and DO WORK!

Faith Without Works Is Dead!

I have always had faith, and used to tell my sponsor "I believe, I believe lets move on."  But the reason for the question countless times was very simple.  He pointed out times where my lack of faith and using only words, showed that I was actually faithless in times of struggle or stress.  My delusional thoughts were "I can manage this one on my own", and "I will show everyone".  The reality always is the same; I manage to screw it up at the most inappropriate times.

I learned, and I am still learning everyday.  A faith in a Higher Power and a trust for that Higher Power is where my peace today comes from.  Its easy to say one has faith, but words have no meaning unless action is taken.  One cannot say "I have faith that I will stay sober and my Higher Power will work and help me stay sober."  This statement is true if you are taking the suggestions of the program, and living with principles with integrity.  Simply saying, is not working a program.  Having faith and doing the work is.

The changes which have taken place in my life, are all because I have faith and do the continuous work that this program suggests.  My faith becomes stronger with each day as I ask for the guidance to carry out the will of my Higher Power.  When I do these simple things everyday, my faith grows as does my life. Simply saying I have faith I will stay sober and get the job that I want is not enough.  One must DO WORK for their dreams to come true.

Constant contact and daily attempts at meditation are what keeps my faith strong as the miracles continue in my life.  Good and bad still remain, what I do with them, and who I help are what keeps this statement true for me today:  FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD.

I don't want to be dead inside, so I do the work to live each day as it is my last, and pass on what was so freely given to me.  A belief in something greater than myself that could, and has restored me to sanity!

Work Out Wednesday! Crossfit and Recovery

In my process of finding twelve step recovery this time, I noticed something at year five.  Recovery was not enough.  I needed to incorporate all three elements; Mind, Body, and Soul!  My body needed to have some attention, not only because I was out of shape, but because I was missing the drive and the passion.  I was missing out on life by settling for an everyday routine!

What I have learned, is that as alcoholics and addicts we have a drive that many others don't have.  I still had that drive when I quit using, but it needed to be woken up to find relief in a healthy manner.  I had a second spiritual moment when I found Crossfit.  I found something that pushed me to the brink of failure.  But there was a community and a fellowship which was there to help me fight through the pain and accomplish my goals.  It's was just like the community and fellowship that I found in 12 step recovery, 

In fact, the community of cross fitters is very similar to the rooms of recovery.  We are there to suggest things to you, to show you the proper way, and then you get to put into action what you are taught.  This saved my life.  It was my second surrender.  It was my new found freedom in recovery.  My body is my temple, I am how I take care of myself.  Mind, Body, and Soul!

Make it a great day people! DO WORK!

Mindful Monday!

So this life I lead today comes with a price, but the price is small compared to the price I paid to get here!  A dear friend and I always discuss this line:  "There's A Price To Be Paid".  This line ties into Mindful Mondays for me.  Recovery today is simple.  I do a few simple things everyday that were suggested to me 7 years ago, and I try my best to remain teachable. 

Step 3 for me is my relief.  I am no longer in charge, and I welcome that with open arms.  If my will is not aligned daily, and if I don't humble myself before something greater than myself and turn my will and my direction over, then I have stopped taking the suggestions gifted to me years ago, and that is a selfishness that I don't have the luxury of today.

Today I maintain what I have by gladly doing a few simple things instead of doing what I used to do, which was insane.  Every day I practice steps 3, 6, and 7.  I practice 10 when needed, which is not as often as it used to be because of steps 3, 6, 7.  Steps 11 and 12 are gifts bestowed upon me by this wonderful program and my Higher Power.

I use them daily, and I am reminded that I cannot keep what I have unless I give it away.  We carry a message of hope, and for a guy like me, a little hope went a long way.  It all started with someone doing step 12 for me.  They saved my life, and for that I am eternally grateful, so I continue to do as was suggested and carry that message.  DO WORK!

Welcome To Recovery Today!

Welcome to Recovery Today, a brand new blog dedicated to recovery and living a sober lifestyle.  We believe that successfully treating the disease of alcoholism and drug addiction requires taking a look at all three components of our being-mind, body, and spirit.

With special guest writers, and professionals and lay-persons alike, we will strive to bring to you the most current and relevant content available.

Mindful Monday will feature a post about applying the 12 steps in your daily life.

On Workout Wednesday we'll deliver content on health and fitness, and how it pertains to recovery and wellness.

Faithful Friday will open up dialogues on God, higher power, and faith in recovery.

Thanks for dropping by, we look forward to seeing you this Monday!

Mike

Michael Gonzales, CEO Recovery First Interventions
http://recoveryfirstinterventions.com