SOBRIETY IS NOT FOR WIMPS

The initial act of embracing a lifestyle which denies the greatest crutch available to mankind – substance abuse – is in itself heroic and worthy of Congressional medals.  OK, so the fact that the majority of people don’t use alcohol and drugs as crutches is irrelevant.  We’re talking about you and me – addicts who have been hooked on alcohol or heroin – not normal social users.  We’re talking about men and women who could not survive a day without a fix.  Denying our bodies and minds that which enabled survival in another day of addictive behavior was not a wimpy thing to do.  It took courage.

But, day one of recovery was just the tip of an iceberg.  Days two, three and four brought to our broken minds and bodies a realization of  the gravity of our disease.  Many of us could not conceive of a lifetime void of our crutches.  We slipped, relapsed, gave up – WIMPED OUT.

That is said with the greatest love and compassion for those who still suffer.  Recovery, in my mind, is not based on merit or worthiness.  It is indeed a gift of grace, but it is also a journey into the most difficult undertaking any of us will ever attempt.  Throwing away that crutch can be the most terrorizing endeavor any of us will face.  When one of us has a relapse, all of us shake in our boots because we know that “there but for the grace of God go I.”

But a life facing enemy number one everyday does not need to be a life of daily terror.  We have garnered the necessary tools to fight addiction.  We have the armor available to end each 24 hour period successfully and joyfully sober.  We have a Higher Power who wants us to be warriors.

During those initial days of sober living a friend of Bill’s told me, “Y’all just stay sober today even if your arse falls off.  And if it does, drag it to a meeting.”

It’s a simple concept, this sobriety thing, but it can be terrifying.  Don’t wimp out.  A sober life can be one helluva ride.