There was a point in my life, back when I was addicted to heroin and alcohol in my early 30s that I never expected to reach age 40. I was living the life of a predator, always searching for drugs and alcohol. My only goal was to feel good on some kind of chemical and stay half out of my mind. Gloom and doom were my best friends. And probably the only thing that saved me was I kept ending up in prison, jail or a mental hospital.
Yet, despite that history, I woke up this morning and realized that today was my 79th birthday. And my next realization was that the only reason that I was able to turn 79 today is that I got sober when I was 51 years old, back in 1991.
And I bring all this out for a couple of reasons. One of the reasons is that I'm sharing my gratitude for being able to stay on the planet this long in spite of living as an alcoholic and addict for so many years. And the other reason is to encourage others who might think that they're too old or too sick to get into recovery. Because we're never too far along in life to change course. All we need is willingness.
What happened to me, when I was 51, was I realized that I had a choice: either I remained in misery with my addiction or I could decide to make something of my life. And of course, you all know the decision I made, one of the best I've made in my life.
It's amazing what happens in the universe when we decide to get our lives on the right track. While I was happy and full of joy during my first year of recovery, it seemed that doors immediately began opening for me. Opportunities abounded. I was able to start rebuilding my life within the first year. And while I faced many challenges I've experienced a lot of success in my over 27 years of recovery. To be honest, much more than I ever dreamed of having.
Have I had downtimes? And challenges? Of course. In fact, I'm going through some of them right now. But today I know that the challenges we face are just part of life on planet earth and that if we stay the course of recovery we can deal with anything.
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