For those of us who are in recovery, Thanksgiving day doesn't just happen once a year. We celebrate Thanksgiving each day of our recovery.
When I arise in the morning I awaken to a world of peace and tranquility. While at one time when I got out of bed my first thought was where was I going to get my next drink or drug? Where could I find something to steal to satisfy my drug habit? Which convenience store could I steal a bottle of wine from, so as to get enough courage to go steal something bigger? My life was always a dark place where my only mission was to satisfy my cravings for alcohol and drugs.
But today my mode of living is mostly one of gratitude. Yes, once in a while I'm in a bad place and start to get off track. However, I immediately catch myself and get back in focus. All I have to do is to remember where I came from and what I went through trying to be out of my mind 24 hours a day. And that snaps me back to the reality of the present moment.
Today I was able to spend a beautiful Thanksgiving in the company of family and friends. Some of them were my blood family, others were my recovery family. And I reflected that until I got clean and sober I had none of these people around me. They're good people who care about me and what happens to me. People I can count on.
In the recovery world, we spent a lot of time talking about gratitude. And that's because gratitude puts an invisible shield around us that protects us from the temptations of drugs and alcohol.
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