Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Settling for Something

Back in last century my parole officer was counseling me about my drug use. And he said something I still recall.

What he said was that at some point I'd have to settle for something in life. But I didn't understand his point until much later. In fact, I wasn't sure what he meant..

My history told him I was constantly restless and discontented. And his statement was perhaps a way to share a bit of his philosophy. Whatever it was, I felt he was trying to help.

Only when I made a decision to get sober did I understand - years later - what he meant.

And what he meant was that at some point in our lives we have to make a decision about what we're going to do. How we're going to live our lives.

And when I got sober, that's exactly what I did. I settled for a way of living that would allow me to flourish and thrive.

I realized that if I kept drinking I'd end up dead. Or back behind bars. And at the moment of that realization I knew I had to make a decision about my life.

And that's when I found the freedom of recovery. And after being sober a while I understood what he meant.