Losing It All

Today, while visiting one of the houses I was greeted by a client who’d recently returned to TLC.

            “Haven’t seen you in a while,” I told him.  “How have you been?”

            “Well, it’s good to be back,” he replied.

Then he proceeded to tell me that when he’d left some six months earlier he had a decent job, an apartment and a car.

Things were going so well he stopped going to meetings or talking to his sponsor. Soon he was downing a few beers and hanging out at a bar. Before long he’d lost his job, his apartment, and was living on the streets. After a few months he returned to TLC to see if he could get it right.

He seemed a little surprised when I congratulated him on losing everything. But I told him I wasn’t being sarcastic – that when we lose everything we begin to recognize the problem.

 When I finally got sober January 14, 1991 I had half a change of clothes and seventy three cents. There wasn’t much doubt my life was a mess. Nor was there any question about who was responsible.

But that’s where change began.