To make sure I remained sober day in
and day out I had to have a toolbox filled
with recovery tools to help me build a strong,
solid foundation in recovery to live upon.
I learned in those first months sober that
I was powerless over alcohol and that my
life had become unmanageable. That I couldn't
stay sober on my own without help. Help from
using a program of recovery and the fellowship
of others in recovery like me.
I first had to have people teach me about my
addiction to alcohol. It wasn't just knowing that
I couldn't drink successfully, but needed to know
why. Then needed to know how it affected my
mind, body, soul and those around me.
What made me so different from the normal
drinker.
They taught me how my insides were wired
and how they were affected when a mind
altering drug, poison was injested and flowed
thru out my system and was affected by it.
That poison was eating my inside up, destroying
everything inside me that use to be healthy and
eventually began to rot. That poison was making
me sick that I couldn't function properly, healthy.
Once the poison was removed out of my
system then I had to learn how to keep
myself from lifting poison back to my lips.
Poison that would have killed me 23 yrs ago.
Those tools I have in my tool box is knowledge.
Useful knowledge taught to me by many others
who learned themselves to stay sober a day at
a time.
In life we have rules to live by which many
are familiar with called the Ten Commandments.
In recovery there are 12 Steps and principles
set down for those to follow and guide us to
help us remain sober each day.
To make my recovery life successfully, I
keep an openmind to suggestions by others,
willingness to go that extra mile to do whatever
I need to do to remain sober, and learn to be
honest in all my affairs.
We can have an arsenal of supplies in our
tool boxes to reach for at anytime we need
them to stay sober for a many one days at
a time down the road.