Yesterday, while driving through a parking lot full of Christmas shoppers, I was becoming frustrated. I’ve never done well in crowds or long lines.
Then I stopped to reflect upon where I was at this time 21 years ago, a few weeks before I got sober.
December 21 years ago I was at the end of a long run of drinking and using heroin. I was homeless. I’d lost everything and was living in a stolen car. I had gone from being vice-president of a nationwide entertainment company to being a homeless bum.
I’d become a predator, continually looking for something to steal so I could buy heroin and alcohol. In my pocket were tickets for shoplifting arrests. I was facing a DUI charge. A dark cloud of depression hung over each day. Then I went into a detox in Arizona, determined to stop the misery.
And it worked.
Today I have a blessed life. I was married earlier this month. We're spending three days in Las Vegas with my children and grandchildren between Christmas and New Year’s. I have all the material stuff I need – more than I need.
Today I need to be grateful for the frustrations in my life. Because if I hadn’t gotten sober I wouldn’t be here to complain at all.
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