problemchild

Hi, all my good friends, I just want you to know that i posted a note to let everyone know that i was going back to work for 2 weeks ,but it did not post i see.. All is well and i am still sober, good and bad days as expected. Arrived home on the 9th and all is still well. Planning meetings for tommorow and the rest of the week. Life is good but the freight is going up and i am sure you have all seen it in the food market, due to the cost of fuel, we all need to rally on this point before it is too late, our economy and our communist goverment run wild, we the people voted against the pilot program for mexican trucks to roam our land and so did the senate , by cutting the fundings for the program, YET the government still supports and FUNDS this program Illegally with our tax dollars !!! The dictator ship of bush must end, or we all will pay the price.. Who to vote for ? I have no idea, but Obama was sworn into office by the koran and Hillary , have we not had enuff of the clintons and the bushes ? GOD HELP US ALL ...............

CarolD

Glad to see you are still sober John.

I use the Serenity Prayer in
all areas of my life.

Blessings to you and your wife

sugErspun

If you give these 'outside issues' power over you (i.e. victimism), it could lead you back to drinking. Honestly.

You mentioned meetings - are you involved in recovery or service in AA? It may help you see the root of all this.

I live 2 hours from Mexico - and see the trucks, the citizens every day - there isnt much of a choice here. For some reason, it doesn't bother me any more. This resentment I read in your post can be removed.

All the best,

Tazman53

John, good to see you back. Glad to hear you are still getting to meetings.

I agree with SugaRspun, there is no reason to worry over things we can not control, cast your vote and move on. We are all in this together and there are things we need to accept that the only control we have over them is to cast our one vote and accept what the majority of folks vote in.

I won't really get into politics, but just suffice it to say that we have had worse elected officials and we survived.

bugsworth

Having concerns over "outside" issues does not mean you are giving the issues "power" over you. It simply means one is aware of the world in which one lives. Sobriety gives us all a chance to make significant changes in our lives and the lives of future generations.

When I was drinking I lived in a bubble, why would I put myself in one sober?

Getting involved in life is the freedom that comes with sobriety.

Tazman53

Totally agree, but many of us, especially in early sobriety tend to let some things consume us, this is something we all need to watch for. I know I am still a pretty much all or nothing kind of person, I need to keep an eye on things in my life and not let them consume me, particuallary things that I have very little control over.

We all need to watch our selfs on outside issues and be able to recognize when we begin to obsess about them to such a degree the draw us into depression or unneeded anger or frustration.

When I was trying to quit drinking on my own the only way I could deal with the anger and frustration of not being able to stop drinking was to drink. When I was angry or frustrated over things at work that I had no real control over I drank to rid myself of the anger and frustration.

TeamsterPower

Hi Problem,

My name is Richard. I work at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in DC. I was alerted by your post to this site because of a feed I have on the Mexican pilot program. While I don't know if you are a union member or not (I don't need to), and I don't have a drinking issue; I know a lot of drivers in the United States that do (and are doing what you are and getting clean -- which I wholeheartedly applaud).

I wanted to take a few minutes of my day to write to you directly here. Please realize that the Teamsters is working on the Mexican trucking issue day and night. We are now also actively working on getting Mary Peters fired from her job. Mary is the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, the latest in the Bush Administration to break the law, as you mentioned.

We even have a website around this issue called FireMaryPeters.com -- and are going to court tomorrow to appeal the governments move.

Why am I telling you this here? Well, you are a worker with the appropriate concerns, however, based on where you are at this site, I don't want you to worry about this right now. You need to get healthy and stay strong and let the union do your fighting; that is our job.

If you are one of the thousands who are taking Off-Loaded Mexican Cargo at the 25-mile mark, you know that there are less than 50 trucks going through the States at this point. One of these pulled out just the other day because we found numerous violations on the trucks and the drivers. In other words, we are doing our work ... and you need to really do yours.

Right now, my guess is that your job is to focus on what is in front of you. When you get back to work, if you spot a Mexican truck, just pull over and wait for it to get out of sight -- especially if it is raining (no anti-locks). Don't worry about the bigger fight right now, at least as one person ... whether you carry the Teamster Union card or not, know that 1.4 million of us are fighting this for you.

I wish you the best of luck getting away from the drink. I know a lot of people who have done the same thing as you and with amazing success.

In Solidarity,
-Richard / IBT

CarolD

Thank you Richard for your dedication and for taking
time to personally reply.

As we are a site based on recovery issues
as you noted....

I'll close this thread and wish you all the best.