Signs...
There are signs everywhere (and I'm not talking about road signs!! haha)
Little things that can be observed and happen that if utilised correctly can be used to stregthen sobriety and your commitment to it.
I knew I needed an AA meeting today so I checked out a meeting this afternoon that I have never been to before. I really love my Sat-Nav, it has came in very useful for finding meetings in my recovery which otherwise I would have never dreamt of going to. Because driving through a busy city and motorway can be quite nervy, especially if you ever get lost. Yes, I am really grateful for first of all having the ability to drive again and also my trusty Sat-Nav.
On my way to the meeting driving past the main Island through the outscurts of my town I saw a lampost with flowers on it. The lampost had obviously been hit by a vehicle and it would have been on the drivers side so obviously a fatality. Just driving to McDonalds I saw a group of 17-18 year old looking girls and lads crying and placing more flowers. I suspected it would have been a young person killed as it looks like a classic case of speeding. I used to drive in cars wrecklessly whilst drunk and high and came close on one occassion to getting killed with my best mate at the time. Anyway that really hit home to me about how fragile life is and how in sobriety I am on such firm-ground compared to many and how I don't wish to ever go back to that pain and sadness that those young people at the side of the road were feeling.
When I went back into AA on 10th July 2009 after finally getting sober on 8th July 2009 then mid-way throught that meeting a man sitting 2 chairs away went into a full-blown alcoholic fit and could have very easily died. It was very distressing and I remember saying in my share that I will take it as a sign of what would happen to me if I didn't take the sober path. It wasn't rock n' roll or glamorous but rather tragic and pitiful. He was well-known by the ambulance staff.
I tend to find that if I keep my side of the street clean and try to work my recovery honestly and to the best of my ability then all of the signs that happen in life are good. Conversely when I stop doing that then the signs are there for me to take heed.
I guess the point of this post is that I am feeling very grateful again for my recovery one day at a time from my alcoholism.
If you have your eyes and mind open then there are signs all around displaying the gifts of sobriety as opposed to the pain and sorrow of active alcoholism. The signs are there to be seen as to what lies in store if you ever forget that you're only ever 1 drink away.
Increase The Peace