Dear Miracles, Please share your ESH with me, on your Gifts of Sobriety!!! I wanna start with...Sobriety = Life itself to me!!! I would not still be here, had I injested that next ounce of booze! And...I love too that I have a "birthday" AND a "RE-BIRTH day"....The former...the more numbers, the worselol...the later, the more numbers, the BETTER!!! Bless this room (((Hugs))) Love, Lady Eli....
for one thing .... I can enjoy the '2 Scoops' of Raisins in my Raisin Bran cereal ... ... ... I love having that extra scoop ... for that, I am grateful ...
(you must understand ... ... ... I used to always drink my breakfast, ... and I don't mean the 'Instant Breakfast' they sell either ...)
1. More spiritual 2. Calmer 3 Happier 4. Better relationship 5. Better friends 6. Better Job 7. Lost weight 8. Was able to quit smoking 9. More responsible 10. Get to have a normal life 11. Get to have a second family in AA 12. A place where I feel welcome and share things with folks all over the world 13. Gave me tools to grow up 14. A wonderful sponsor 15. A plan for living my life. 16. Principles to live by 17. Life without crippling fear 18. No longer sick every day 19. No longer feel empty 20. Look forward to life 21. Feel young instead of old and dying 22. Live in a beautiful house instead of a dump with dirty laundry and broken crap all over 23. Pay my bills on time 24. Am someone my family can be proud of 25. Am someone I can be proud of. 26. Can take care of my pets instead of be a crappy and neglectful pet owner. 27. Can think about others more 28. Can restart my day now instead of freaking out over dumb crap 29. Can understand how to be of service 30. I know what a real man is instead of just pretending and being a scared little boy 31. Can appreciate life for what it is 32. Clarity 33. Having gratitude is real and deep and not just a fleeting thing 34. Purpose 35. Has given me something that I cannot lose no matter what 36. Has allowed my mental health to improve drastically 37. Saves massive amounts of money 38. Enjoy spare times and remember them 39. Live in the solution not the problem now 40. Can do chores 42. procrastinate less 43. Remember more 44. Have a broader range of feelings 45. Have gotten to travel more places 46. Appreciate simple things 47. Appreciate beauty more 48. Better ability to concentrate 49. Can learn from my mistakes now 50. Sobriety led me to MIP and MIP ROX! LOL
How's that for a gratitude list?
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Keep coming back. It works if you work it. So work it. You're worth it!
Hello lady eli, blessings of this day! #1 for this old hardhead, the God of my understanding, first in all things, guiding this once shipwrecked old swabby ,one day at a time through God's grace(that unmerited favor) and mercy...And I am able to "STAND UP NEXT TO A MOUNTAIN, AND CHOP IT DOWN WITH THE EDGE OF MY HAND" circa Jimi (Voodoo Child Slight Return) With God ,all things are possible...................
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Selfishness-self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
awesome thought and thanks for the thread! it always helps me to see the blessing others have received and to recall my own.
my greatest blessing i think of whenever i think about blessings?
being diagnosed stage 3 metastatic melamoma 13 months onto recovery. being told i would have to have surgery to carve out what was there, then follow up with possible radiation, chemo, immunotherapy, and many other things which could include more surgeries, being told i will have to go on disability and wont be able to work,there will be pallative care and a lot i was gonna go through, but theres hope!
being able to grasp what was happening, facing the fears and having the courage given to me by God to do what was suggested by my oncologist( pretty wild even he only suggested what i do!), then in 3 1/2 years going theough 6 different surgeries to carve out cancer( 3 of the surgeries quite severe), going through a clinical trial that was stopped due to recurrance int hat time and going through 2 very intense roiunds of chemo, with the 2nd being stopped due to severe reaction, living with the adverse and sometimes serious side effects that remain from it all....AND NOT WANTING TO DRINK OVER IT!!!
but then again, that all wasnt as serious as a broken shoelace.:)
i owe it all to the program, the fellowship to teach me and to help me find the God of my understanding who carried me through it all
-- Edited by tomsteve on Sunday 17th of February 2013 12:27:21 PM
Hey tomsteve, ... I too, had malignant melanoma ... they removed a 'baseball' size hunk of meat off my back .... this to remove 'one' hair follicle ... they got it ... years of followup testing ... I'm lucky, I'm still cancer free as of today ... thank the Lord ... ... ... and I'm also grateful you're still with us too ... you and I have received more than our fair share of miracles ...
So I'm glad we're both here sharing our ESH with others by choice ... if we help just one other person, it is the least we can do, right ??? ...
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
You guys are saving my life right now. I've been avoiding this thread. I've been wanting to play victim - and I can't do that very well when I'm reading about gratitude, or making my own list. Well - it's time to slap myself! Gosh - I am SOOOOOOO NUTS!
I'm grateful for:
My health My healthy kids - both alive My husbands health My parents health Your health You being here - sharing here AA for leading me to the steps and a HP I'm so grateful that I'm not drunk and passed out right now like I was this day last year in my relapse. I'm grateful for alanon I'm grateful for clear thinking and all 50 things that Mark listed I'm grateful for a warm bed, a chance to make money, a car that starts in the -7 temps like this morning so I can go to a meeting I'm grateful for organic food choices even out here in the sticks My parents My siblings The bills almost paid off the animals who live on this little hobby farm and teach me about being there through thick and thin and that I respect all life mostly for you MIPers who save me day in and day out
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Thanks for everything. Peace and Love on your journey.
You guys are saving my life right now. I've been avoiding this thread. I've been wanting to play victim - and I can't do that very well when I'm reading about gratitude, or making my own list. Well - it's time to slap myself! Gosh - I am SOOOOOOO NUTS!
I'm grateful for:
My health My healthy kids - both alive My husbands health My parents health Your health You being here - sharing here AA for leading me to the steps and a HP I'm so grateful that I'm not drunk and passed out right now like I was this day last year in my relapse. I'm grateful for alanon I'm grateful for clear thinking and all 50 things that Mark listed I'm grateful for a warm bed, a chance to make money, a car that starts in the -7 temps like this morning so I can go to a meeting I'm grateful for organic food choices even out here in the sticks My parents My siblings The bills almost paid off the animals who live on this little hobby farm and teach me about being there through thick and thin and that I respect all life mostly for you MIPers who save me day in and day out
You sound sooooo much like me at that stage of my recovery, it's not even funny ... ... ...
I am not sure if it's your gift with words or if it's just me, but you are playing MY TAPE back with your post and shares here on MIP ... The fact is, I'm not sure how to take this, it's actually a little creepy ... Oh, I mean I relate to almost everything that everyone else shares, but you my dear, are eerily going through the exact same up and downs I went through ... (it's a wonder I don't have boobs and that monthly thingy you have ...) ... ... ... (just kidding folks)
Love ya and God Bless,
Pappy
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
I am grateful that no matter what time of day someone talks to me, I will always be in a clear frame of mind. I am grateful that I can hold my head high in the morning and not wonder what happened the night before. I am grateful that I can walk down the street and not worry about seeing anyone I might have embarrassed myself in front of. I am grateful that I am learning to speak openly and honestly with the people I love. I am grateful for the many amazing, wonderful people I have met in this fellowship.
Hey tomsteve, ... I too, had malignant melanoma ... they removed a 'baseball' size hunk of meat off my back .... this to remove 'one' hair follicle ... they got it ... years of followup testing ... I'm lucky, I'm still cancer free as of today ... thank the Lord ... ... ... and I'm also grateful you're still with us too ... you and I have received more than our fair share of miracles ...
So I'm glad we're both here sharing our ESH with others by choice ... if we help just one other person, it is the least we can do, right ??? ...
amen,pappy. so many miracles along the way. during the 2nd round of chemo, i got extremely and violently ill( i had to be admitted to the hospital to receive it as it was quite intense). on the 3rd day, the bottom fell out. i was having difficulty breathing and it was gettin worse real quick. my BP dropped to 76/53, heart rate was up to 188, temp skyrocketed to 105, but what was freakin me out is i couldnt breathe!
i pushed the nurse button and started yellin for a nurse the best i could. a nurse came it and was instantly on the phone. within a minute, there was a room full of nurses bouncin off of each other. then my oncologist walked in. in astren voice he said,"OK!" and that pulled al the nurses out of their frenzy and into controlled chaos. my oncologist said my intestines had swollen severely and were pushin up on everything causing the breathing difficulty. he said they may have ruptured, this could be quite severe and if that was the case, i was headin to the OR and this could be very severe.
i was leanin on my arm and and all them peole were tryin to get me to lat down , but i wasnt realy hearin what they were sayin. then my oncoligist grabbed my arm and daid,"tom, please lay down so we can try and fix ya." so, with all this goin on, knowin this could be severe( possibility of a blood infection was another possibility), i felt, actually FELT either God or an angel lay me down. i was at peace. i wasnt concerned with the outcome. whatever happened would happen and i was ok with it.
well, as ya know, they pulled me out of it. it was a true miracle my intestines didnt rupture. after i was stabilized, my oncologist came in to talk to me about stopping the treatment as now the risks outweighed the benefits. we talked for about 45 minutes and thanked him for all of the schooling and training he had done to become my oncologist.
now here was a true miracle:( know that all my care has been through the university of michigan cancer center and hospital. to be in his position, my oncologist has to be involved in research, take care of cancer patients, and also teach): he says to me:" ya know, its rather strange. i am supposed to be across campus teaching right now and dont really know why i was heading up here this morning."
WOW ... what a story ... the only thing I can really relate to is the inability to breath ... with four years sober, last year when I had my heart attack, the most significant problem I noticed was it felt like I was 'drowning' ... on air ... I was getting lungfuls of air, but I felt ready to 'pass out' ... ... ... They chewed my butt out pretty good, cause I'd been having the problem for a week ... they said I was in advanced 'congestive heart failure' and if I hadn't come that night, I may not have seen another sunrise ... (I said it wasn't so much a 'macho' thing as it was that I hate going to the doctor ... LOL ... the good Lord is definitely watching over me and you ... I'm sure He/She has plans for us ...
Today is another good example ... We've lived at this residence for 11 years ... I'm cleaning up some dead wood and some I just cut with the chain saw in the back yard ... my fire is going and everything is turning out to be a beautiful day ... I walked over to get another log to toss on the brush fire and found myself with one leg sprawled out on the ground and the other leg had simply disappeared ... yep, the spot I've mowed over hundreds of times suddenly and without warning, has just swallowed my leg ... (I don't carry my cell phone when working outside, but I'm starting to think I should ... ) ... I mean I put my foot down on what I thought was solid ground and Bam, nothin' ... My first thought is don't move sucker, this could be the TOP of a big cavern ...
I just happen to have a walking stick I had cut earlier , near me ... it's about 6 1/2 feet long ... I gently sat up and stuck this stick down in the hole, shit, the whole thing goes right in ... so I tested around the edges and found I was indeed hitting the wall of this thing ... so I kinda mapped the thing out in my head and figured there's a drop on below my foot ... the 6 1/2 foot pole didn't touch bottom ... so I leaned in the direction I had figured the wall to be and slowly crawled my way out ...
Later this year I will probe this thing a little further and see if there's anything to it ... I know you feel the same thing Tomsteve, it's like someone is watching over us, like they need us around to do something few others can accomplish or somethin' ... It's kinda like that recent post from John F called 'The Chosen' ... that weighs heavy on my mind from time to time ...
Love ya Bro and God Bless, Pappy
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
OHHHHH!!!! ALLLLLL!!!! SIGH!!!! Thank you Dear Ones for your magic!!!!!!! Love, Lady Eli! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!....o.k. .... I'm done...oh no...oopps...here comes annudda.....Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you....someone please stop me........and annudda...thank you thank you thank you thank you.....for my wonderful LIFE!!!!! Love, Lady Eli !!!!!
Dear Miracles, Please share your ESH with me, on your Gifts of Sobriety!!! I wanna start with...Sobriety = Life itself to me!!! I would not still be here, had I injested that next ounce of booze! And...I love too that I have a "birthday" AND a "RE-BIRTH day"....The former...the more numbers, the worse
lol...the later, the more numbers, the BETTER
!!! Bless this room (((Hugs))) Love, Lady Eli....
