Monday, November 30, 2015

A Myth

The idea that we get sober and life will be wonderful is a myth. What happens is that we still face life issues - only we don't cover them up with alcohol or drugs.

More than once I've heard people share at meetings about this.

"My wife divorced me. She says I'm boring now that I've quit drinking."

"I lost my job."

"I had to declare bankruptcy."

“My dog doesn’t even like me.”

The list of negatives might go on and on. And who knows the whole story of why bad things happen when we're trying to do good. Maybe it's the universe making a readjustment to see how serious we are about changing.

But I assure anyone that - at almost 25 years sober - life still happens to us. Most of the world doesn't care if we're sober. Life just flows onward. The only thing is that when we're sober we're more able to deal with it.

Since I've been sober I've been through lots of stuff. Lost my mother to emphysema. My brother to alcohol. Won a custody battle for my youngest daughter. Married and divorced. Entered a new marriage. Developed neuropathy in both feet. Have been through several lawsuits - something that takes an emotional toll - win or lose. And so on...

But you get the point. Life moves on. We can face it drunk and not deal with it very well - if at all. Or we can remain sober and develop the resilience to handle most anything.

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