And after I stayed sober a while I made another commitment. And that was to take care of myself. To exercise daily with weights, yoga, swimming, cycling - something to keep me moving. Later I added in daily meditation. I mixed it up to keep from getting bored.
And my new regimen worked. I found the energy to put in a lot of hours on various projects. Then I decided to go a step further and changed the way I ate. I became a vegetarian and have been for most of my recovery. Today I'm 99% vegan, once in a while eating yogurt or an egg or cheese at a social occasion.
But the point of all this talk about clean living is that I used to be the butt of humor and jokes about my lifestyle. Especially from some of my younger business associates the first year I began my routine.
But through the years the way I lived has kept me healthy enough to work 40-50 hours a week and pretty much keep up with my younger cohorts and enjoy life.
And a few of those who had fun with my choices are not in good shape or have passed on - some of them in their late fifties and early sixties of cancer, diabetes, or heart problems.
Sometimes I wish I could have been more persuasive. I miss my friends, guys I think could have enjoyed more years of healthy recovery had they only made some simple lifestyle changes. But people make their own choices.
I know life eventually gets us all. But I also believe we should enjoy ourselves to the fullest while we're sober and alive.
