Truth is ever-changing and fully dependent on the best information i have at any given time. Truth is not eternal.
Science has proven this time and time again… And at heart, I’m a bit of a science nerd
Edit: and i agree with you on many levels. There have been many truths i refused to let be my friend, regardless of their intent to help or harm.
Edit 2: and am aware i sometimes fall victim to confirmation bias when i know i should know better. I’m working on that
You just described my children when they get caught doing something they shouldn’t have been doing.
Recovery advice is basically life advice!!!
My only opinion on farts is generally to do with how awesome they sounded, or how hysterically bad they stank.
I feel it an opinion worth sharing at times…
But is it truth?
No.
It is only my truth at that moment in time.
On another day would a fart smell as sweet?
Would my differing moods mean the fart sound less humorous?
Of course.
That is why we must only experience the fart for what it is right now, and appreciate the fact it may not be that for everyone, or forever.
Thank you. I relate to this so much.
For myself working my recovery out of fear led to relapses. Learning to recover based on faith and love is working. I had and have to follow the suggestions from my sponsor or other long term members and do the work. Go to meetings, get a big book and read the thing. Work the steps. If you’ve done the steps do them again and again. Practice makes perfect or should I say practice makes you good nobody is perfect or needs to be.
Despite the fact that I’m pretty good at talking my way in to things, I never could talk myself in to sobriety. I actually had to shut up and follow through on all those things I said I was going to do. I said “I know what I need to do this time” a lot. But then I never actually did it. For all the knowledge I had, I looked pretty stupid. Always talking a big game and yet never getting sober.
Lately on Facebook I’ve been noticing a lot of my friends who have strung some sobriety together, seem to be relapsing a lot these days. It got me thinking about my relapses, both occurred around 2 months, and why I relapsed. It was actually a pretty simple answer. I just didn’t care enough about my sobriety to maintain it. By 60 days the physical addiction was gone. I no longer needed drugs and alcohol to function. I was through the withdrawal stage. So I had no reason to pick up other than the fact that I just couldn’t be bothered to stay sober and do the work that comes along with it.
As I came to realize and have often shared, once one is past the physical withdrawal stage, sobriety is 100% a battle within one’s own mind.
It doesn’t get easier with each passing day, because it’s a “do or do not” proposition. No, you just get stronger, or you relapse.
It’s not “part of recovery” anymore than a cancer returning is part of recovery. The sad part is, a relapse is 100% intentional. It is a deliberate and willful act. You can choose not to drink, or you can choose to drink.
Yep, I choose the easy way, which was getting high and drunk. I guess at the time being a homeless drug addict was more appealing than being a hard-working member of society. Glad I changed that mindset eventually. Now it’s a pretty simple choice to take some time each day to focus on recovery, rather than suffer a lifetime of addiction.
In my humble opinion, your legacy will be the sum of the influences your life had on the lives of others. Every action and decision we make is part of the equation. Seems to me you have positively touched many even with this thread. We never know how the things we say and do really impact others. Good on you for your awareness and the raising of the standards you have for your life
You finally realized the narrow, difficult path leads to freedom, and look at you now…husband and father, professional, dare I say, respectable…
Let’s hold off on the respectable for just a little longer…
Woah, that’s going out on a limb a bit…
Most of our obstacles would disappear if, instead of cowering before them, we make up our minds to walk boldly through them!
Read this on the app this morning. Really spoke to me. Thought it was a good one for this thread; and just wanted to bump it up : )
That is an excellent one!
Daring indeed you are
This is a good explanation of courage. It’s not about having NO fear, but triumphing OVER the fear we do have. It takes courage to choose sober, but it IS a choice. If you’re reading this, than you’re here, trying, caring, wanting to be and do better, that takes courage. So, you’ve got it, now just keep exercising it. No excuses… we’ve made so many in the past, but those excuses don’t fly anymore and yeah that’s scary, but it’s also what’s true, no more excuses. Excuses won’t keep us sober, happy, healthy… but courage will! 
Accepting the consequences of my own actions has been a big part of my recovery. I was always a blamer. If something didn’t go my way it was always someone, or something, else’s fault. How could I ever to be blamed for the problems in my life when it was so much easier to blame others. For me that was 100% addict behavior. Even in my first go around with ‘sobriety’ I loved to absolve myself from any blame. When I relapsed it was my girlfriend’s fault because she wasn’t giving me the support I needed. When I got fired from a job it was my co-workers fault for ratting me out for stealing. I never took responsibility for calling my drug dealer. I never took responsibility for stealing. All that behavior led me to more drug use. Once I finally accepted that my sobriety, and happiness, were 100% my responsibility I was finally able to take some ownership over my life and work at being a better person, rather than an ungrateful asshole.
Yup.
If only I had a better truck then I wouldn’t be late anymore. Then I would be “happy” enough to get sober.
If only I made more money.
If only I went to school or something. Thennnn I would be able to get sober.
If only my wife didn’t have an affair. Then I sure as shit could get sober.
All of these excuses kept me in the bottle. All of them we also a direct result of my my actions while in my alcoholism.
I was talking about my own situation.