Yesterday I was reflecting upon a strange anniversary: 55 years ago, September 8, 1958, I was sentenced to 10 years in California state prison for possession of heroin. Actually it was a traceable amount of heroin residue left in the bottom of a burnt teaspoon.
At the time I was whining and bellyaching about such a severe sentence for a small amount of drugs. In the 1950s there was a strong prejudice against heroin users, who were viewed as dangerous monsters. At the time, treatment options didn't exist the way they do today. In fact, I never heard the term treatment until the 1970s. Today, instead of a long prison term, I would've probably spent a short amount of time in a County jail or been diverted to a treatment program.
Be that as it may, I served four years of that 10 year sentence. Then I repeated the same process over and over, spending several more years in and out of jail all because of my addiction. Some 16 years in all.
The reason this comes up for me today because I was making my daily mental gratitude list. And I realized that had I looked into the future back in those days I would never have planned on even being alive in 2013. In those days I thought my lifespan might be about 40 years, because that seemed to be the life expectancy of heroin addicts. If they didn't overdose or go crazy they ended up spending their lives in prison for property crimes committed to raise funds for their addictions.
So today, when I think about things to be grateful for, one of them is that I survived my addiction by getting clean nearly 23 years ago. Today I have many blessings in my life: I have a loving wife. My children and grandchildren are in my life. I have a business that allows me to work with recovering alcoholics and addicts. I have financial stability.
But most of all I have the blessings of serenity and peace.
