I was thinking yesterday morning – as I do every morning – what I was grateful for. And at the top of my gratitude lists was the fact that I have a surgeon. And in the middle of the day yesterday he was to remove a cataract from my right eye.
Now don't get me wrong, mind you, doctors scare the crap out of me. Like other humans, they make mistakes. They sometimes leave us in moderate to severe pain. Yet this drug addict, who for years lived on the wrong side of the law, has government provided insurance. And that's what I was grateful for yesterday.
About a month ago the same doctor did cataract surgery on my left eye. And now, except for reading, I no longer need to wear glasses. The biggest problem I have with all of this is that I've worn glasses since I was five years old, over 70 years ago. And the reason that that's a problem is that I've become so used to wearing glasses that when I go out of the house without them I feel like I left something behind - like my shoes or pants. I'm slowly getting adjusted to the idea that I can almost see naturally, though I still need reading glasses for things close up.
I bring this gratitude thing up in this blog, because I try to teach addicts at TLC the importance of gratitude. It's difficult to get drunk or high while we also have gratitude. And another reason, is that I try to teach them to take better care of themselves.
A common response among many of the addicts we deal with is that they don't like to go to the doctor. They say things like "I don't want to hear any bad news." But the reality is that if there's bad news coming to us it's going to get to us sooner or later. Ignoring a problem never makes it go away. And if we get regular checkups – at least annual physicals – then we're showing love to ourselves. The kind of love that's positive and good for us.
Most of us addicts are fortunate to be as a healthy as we are. In fact most of us are lucky to still be alive and functional.
The reality is that none of us are going to live forever. But since we got clean and sober, shouldn't we enjoy the best life we can? That's why I encourage our clients to take care of all the damage they did to their body and mind. Part of that taking care of the damage means regular visits to your doctor. Eating right. Exercising. Learning to meditate.
If any of you need any help with any of this send me an email. I'll share with you how I stay functional.
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