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Post Info TOPIC: Gratitude


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Gratitude
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Gratitude is... Being sober, just for today! Sitting here on the floor of an empty trailer with my cat, and realizing the trailer is my temporary home...and it's so full of love it isn't empty at all! Gratitude is walking away from a lavish life with nothing and finding I have more than I ever had before- peace, awareness, calmness, safety, love, but the greatest is SOBRIETY! Gratitude for the appreciation of the little things in life that mean the most...a Grapevine magazine that inspires me, this phone that connects me to strengthen my program, the 12 Step program of AA that keeps me going. I was kind of getting into some stinkin' thinkin' and feeling some resentment that I put myself into this strange living arrangement and have been meditating about it for days...then it dawned on me (like a frying pan upside the head!) that living sober is #1 in my life and if I stay sober the other things will fall into place. I didn't let myself down, what I really did was pick myself up! I'm going to send a Thankyou card to the cop who told me "you can't park it here"...because if I hadn't gone down the alley a little further, I never would've seen the For Rent sign...and life improved 100%. That sign is gone from the window now...because I'm renting this one. I was "ticked off" at the time, but the resentment turned to gratitude. I'm grateful I have blankets to sleep on. I'm grateful my cat never leaves my side, she's a great therapist, she listens without judgement. I'm grateful for my Higher Power who has carried me through many rough times. When I was feeling down about things I cannot change, my Higher Power reminded me and gave me the wisdom to identify those things, then showed me what I can do. It's not just simple gratitude...it's the heartfelt and emotionally overpowered feeling that gives me goosebumps and chills...and leaves me with a lot of good feelings. Just the late night ramblings of a nut...a sober nut! Best wishes, Coogi/Jerricka

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MIP Old Timer

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Hi Coogi, ...

I'm what others call an 'old timer' here and I just wanted to say, that was one of the most inspirational posts I've read in a long time here ... absolutely loved it ... and I wanted to thank you cause I been getting a little 'down' lately myself ... and this reminds me why one needs the 'family' of AA to stay sober ... it confirms to me that 'together' we do, in fact, work miracles ...

Some of us have/are going/gone through some particularly hard times, either through bad choices on our part, or through situations beyond our control ... (I'm thinking of Jerry right now that was diagnosed with some kind of particularly bad brain disorder, we haven't heard from him for a while and I can't help but worry for him ... Please Lord bring him back to us, we miss him and need him ... )

So, I'm sitting here this afternoon thinking about me, my problems and the bleak near future is all I can see ... I had a bad start to the day with a bad re-action to some new medicine and I was pissed, to put it mildly ... ya see, I just recently finished radiation treatments for cancer(and you don't even want to know the procedure they put me through) ... I can't sleep through the night without having to get up and pee 3 or 4 times during the night ... 2 of my Drs. said to expect that for another 2 months and the last one gave me a new pill to try ... that really threw me for a loop, I got up sick and went back to bed ... so I was feeling sorry for myself ... and on top of that, Monday, my Ophthalmologist said I had two trigiums ??? that requires surgery to remove, with stitches that will take two weeks to dissolve before I feel better from that ... great ... plus he said I have cataracts that will need attention soon, too ... and I got a 'heart' stress test to do for my cardiologist in two weeks and I',m scared to death of the results that will come from that ...

SO ... you come here speaking of gratitude for the fancy 'living conditions' you have and it made me feel so damn guilty for sit'n here on my 'pity pot', stewing about what I have go'n on ... THANK YOU ... for wake'n my butt up and making my own gratitude list ... I should be, and am, grateful to be retired (don't have to do noth'n if I don't want to) ... Rose, my girl(my dog), is laying beside me as I type this, she goes with me everywhere, watches TV with me, sleeps with me, etc.(she's one of the loves of my life) ... I have 3 vehicles, paid for, have a 3,000 sq. ft. house with extra large separate shop, large vegetable garden, so many tools I don't know where they all are, a GREAT WIFE of 42 years, neighbors that check in on me all the time, etc., etc., etc., the list goes on and on ...

SO, ... the things I was so sad about are only 'short-term' minor inconveniences ... Thanks for helping me pull my head outta my butt and get back to think'n positive thoughts instead of this old 'poor me' stuff ...


Love you and again, welcome to MIP, God Bless,
Pappy



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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'



Senior Member

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Posts: 119
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Pythonpappy, Thank you for the info about online meetings, I have a lot to learn. I connect here by my phone (that's why I can't separate paragraphs) and have 3 GBs a month. If meetings fit within that limit, count me in! I'll research it, for sure. It sounds like you've had an overwhelming time in life and your words give me strength. Your story is an inspiration to me! I admire how you cope one day at a time and do whatever it takes. There is a lot of strength in that message! When I was having my "moody moment" and let my thumbs do the talking without consulting my brain first...I read that after it posted and thought "ugh! What a whine-a-thon...I was kinda relieved I left out some more serious stuff or it would've sounded like a soap opera drama and scared sensitive folks off, or I'd quickly earn myself a reputation as that long-typing poster, but until I get my mind straight, I'm going to show the roller coaster side of myself because anxiety disconnects the part of my thinking that makes sense to anyone but me. I'll be seeing the VA doc Monday to start a series of tests and wait for the bad news to be dropped. I started the gratitude list to remind me of all the things that are "up" in my life and some of my clown humor shows even things I write. Nothing I EVER say is intended to bring up feelings of negativity in anyone and if any of my smart@$$ comments have a negative affect on a reader, just let me know and I'll sit on my fingers for a week. This web site has a different "feel" to it... From it I get spiritual enlightening, I read things I didn't know were words I needed to hear until I saw them and felt them as they applied to me personally. It does the spirit a world of good when a message comes to me that sticks with me and makes a difference, as yours has done...and again I thank you! Wishing you and yours a pleasant peaceful evening! Coogi

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MIP Old Timer

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Hi Coogi, ...

Boy you got that right, 'bout our moody moments that is, LOL ... but that's exactly why our program and unity are so important ... they give us the clarity we so desperately need to take the next step in the right direction ... they comfort us ... something we rarely achieve by ourselves ...

And I must say that it's also rare that a 'newbie' to the board here shows the kind of wisdom and inspiration that you exhibit ... and for that, I am very grateful ...

As you know, it's a day-to-day thingy ... and it's also a caring and loving feeling we develop for each other over time ... to know there are others out there JUST like me and are going through the same hardships that I must go through ... Our AA program is such a perfect road-map for living life ... it's wonderful to see others putting it into practice, like you ...

You are a gem, please stick around ...


Love ya and God Bless,
Pappy



__________________

'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'

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