Not just surviving
“When we were using, our lives became an exercise in survival. Now we are doing
much more living than surviving.”
Basic Text p. 50
“I’d be better off dead!” A familiar refrain to a practicing addict, and with good
reason. All we had to look forward to was more of the same miserable existence. Our
hold on life was weak at best. Our emotional decay, our spiritual demise, and the
crushing awareness that nothing would ever change were constants. We had little
hope and no concept of the life we were missing out on.
The resurrection of our emotions, our spirits, and our physical health takes time. The
more experience we gain in living, rather than merely existing, the more we
understand how precious and delightful life can be. Traveling, playing with a small
child, making love, expanding our intellectual horizons, and forming relationships are
among the endless activities that say, “I’m alive”. We discover so much to cherish
and feel grateful to have a second chance.
If we had died in active addiction, we would have been bitterly deprived of so many
of life’s joys. Each day we thank a Power greater than ourselves for another day
clean and another day of life.
Just for today: I am grateful to be alive. I will do something today to celebrate.