Notices

doors Open for Young Alcoholics

Old 02-27-2017, 01:00 AM
  # 1 (permalink)  
12 Step Recovered Alcoholic
Thread Starter
 
Gottalife's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 6,613
doors Open for Young Alcoholics

I am sitting in an airport in northern Thailand, just reflecting on how many door opened to me when I went to AA and adopted the AA way of life.

I was 22 and my life was over. No school qualifications, no job, no money, no family or friends, no future ( I thought), and all my possessions in two plastic rubbish bags. What has happened since then? A few highlights...

A career?
I got a job at the university. The head of department kindly got my work recognized so I could complete my engineering apprenticeship.

I joined a large company as a sales trainee, and progressed to be one of their top three salesmen, with the best territory in the country. Then I was promoted to a management role. Something about this job for a young fella, I got to tear round on bush roads like a rally driver, in a company car! What fun!

Many years later I returned to the corporate world to become a national manager for an engineering based company.

Self employment?

I left the sales job to run my own business with my soon to be wife. It was a restaurant. Had lots of fun, learnt heaps, but didn't make a lot of money.

Later started a different kind of business which still does well. Sold half of it to my business partner, whom God sent along, and now I get to travel the world.

A family of my own? Got married after a few years sober, to a beautiful non alcoholic woman, in the court a yard of our restaurant. We had two beautiful children, a boy and a girl. Sadly she was taken from us before the children had grown up. I was able to be a good father and husband through all of that.

Dreams?

I always had this dream of sailing the Pacific. I got my first little cruising yacht at about two years sober, and have mostly had some kind of boat ever since. Now I am living my dream.

Travel?

I had always been interested in travel to Asia and the pacific islands. I have been living mostly in Malaysia for the past year. In a few minutes I will rendezvous with my partner and friends, and we will be off on a motor bike ride through northern Thailand and along the border with Myanmar. Really good bike roads in the mountains.

These are just a few of the wonderful things that have come my way, since I worked those steps and tried to get my will in line with Gods will.

I have to give God all the credit. He has done a pretty good job with a young man who once thought a grotty smelly bar was the center of the universe. This sobriety business has turned out to be a really good deal.
Gottalife is offline  
Old 02-27-2017, 01:09 AM
  # 2 (permalink)  
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: UK
Posts: 60
That sounds idyllic .

I love Malaysia. Penang has the most amazing food in the world, and KL is my favourite city anywhere. Thailand is beautiful, too.

Have a fabulous time!
SueDenim is offline  
Old 02-27-2017, 01:19 AM
  # 3 (permalink)  
Member
 
Poppy79's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Queensland
Posts: 568
What an awesome and inspiring post! Thank you
Poppy79 is offline  
Old 08-01-2017, 07:56 PM
  # 4 (permalink)  
12 Step Recovered Alcoholic
Thread Starter
 
Gottalife's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 6,613
Bump.
Having a count my blessings day.

Preparing to leave Thailand and head down to Malaysia to organize a new visa.

Beginning to plan for the return journey to NZ. Much easier to get here than it is to sail back. This time of year the South East trades are blowing strongly meaning head winds all the way back to the pacific. If I went down the west coast of Australia, there is the southern ocean and cold westerlies. In each case I have to make my way back east some, and that means waiting for the right weather. One possibility is joining a rally to east Malaysia and North East Indonesia, which starts in April next year. I have missed the season this year, repairs were not completed in time.

Anyway, these are luxury problems. It is a big challenge, some aspects give me a bit of anxiety, so I hope my faith will see me through.

We were talking about courage at the meeting the other night. Courage is not the absence of fear , it is having the fear and doing it anyway. A quote from the big book came up along the lines ... all men of faith have courage...
Gottalife is offline  
Old 08-02-2017, 02:52 PM
  # 5 (permalink)  
~sb
 
sugarbear1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: MD
Posts: 15,951
sugarbear1 is offline  
Old 08-02-2017, 03:09 PM
  # 6 (permalink)  
Member
 
tomsteve's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: northern michigan. not the U.P.
Posts: 15,281
awesome,mike!

personally, if i dont see pics of your journey when ya get back,


it didnt happen. LOLOLOLOL
i think a few of us would love to see pics along the journey.
tomsteve is offline  
Old 08-05-2017, 04:11 PM
  # 7 (permalink)  
Member
 
Db1105's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: De
Posts: 1,333
Thanks for sharing. I sobered up at the age of 17 back in 1977. So, I can relate. ��
Db1105 is offline  
Old 08-05-2017, 05:16 PM
  # 8 (permalink)  
Member
 
Dave42001's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Colorado
Posts: 3,781
Great Stuff! Thanks for sharing, Mike!

I always enjoy reading about your experiences. You've helped me a lot over the years, thank you very much!

We have a big young people's group at our club, a good thing!

Have a safe motorcycle trip!!
Dave42001 is offline  
Old 08-05-2017, 05:27 PM
  # 9 (permalink)  
Member
 
tursiops999's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 2,565
I hear ya on those repairs ... I'm "staycationing" at my home dock with a long list of boat repairs ... and grateful for every minute of it!

Wishing you a safe passage, Mike ..... fair winds and following seas.
tursiops999 is offline  
Old 08-06-2017, 05:18 AM
  # 10 (permalink)  
Member
 
Bunny211's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 1,601
I came in at 30 and I had lost my job, my career, my condo, my self worth, my relationship etc.

Now in my 3rd year of sobriety I have most of that back and I am working on bettering myself. This was an amazing post. I am so beyond grateful for AA...the program, and the people in it, saved my life. I'm so thankful.
Bunny211 is offline  
Old 08-24-2017, 06:15 PM
  # 11 (permalink)  
12 Step Recovered Alcoholic
Thread Starter
 
Gottalife's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 6,613
Originally Posted by Db1105 View Post
Thanks for sharing. I sobered up at the age of 17 back in 1977. So, I can relate. ��
I think I was about 17 when they first tried to get me into treatment. I did a runner!

I was thinking of some of the less obvious positives for young sober alcoholics.

One would be that although I believe alcohol did a lot of physical damage to a growing body, we didn't get the extended exposure to the carcinogenic aspect of alcohol. It is in the same class as cigarettes, which I unfortunately kept smoking for at least another twenty years.

The other thing is the time and youth factors shorten our amends lists. Big financial amends? No one was silly enough to lend me any money, or car or anything that I could loose or break.

Losses were more lost opportunities than anything. I never had most of the things an older person might have like business, family or home, so I never lost them. Certainly I lost everything I had, and the spiritual malady was just the same as the older alcoholics I met, but for the most part I had no idea what I was missing.

The other thing I found that amazed me was the way people out there in the world are generally very happy to see a young person straighten out. Apart from a couple of members of my family, both still suffering alcoholics, everyone else was so encouraging, and forgiving.
Gottalife is offline  

Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off




All times are GMT -7. The time now is 09:57 AM.