The Universe approves.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: 45th Parallel, Michigan
Posts: 816
The Universe approves.
Tonight, two days shy of a month sober, I find a message on my answering machine (yes, land line; I'm a dinosaur) from someone at our local upscale restaurant. I live in a tiny village that attracts summer tourists, and this place is our only upscale eatery, bustling with wealthy clientele all summer long. A woman named Rachel heard that I might be interested in providing some music entertainment this summer, and said she had some Friday night gigs open, please give her a call...
I've been a paid church musician for twenty years; I've played "out" at special events, dinners, funerals several times; many years ago, I sang and played keyboard at this restaurant a couple of summers in a row; all this to say, it's been a loooong time since I've been offered a paid gig to play for a dinner crowd, so this offer was completely out of nowhere, and took me by surprise. I happily agreed to three Friday nights, once a month, in June, July and August. 6-9 pm, $125 a night, with the chance for some decent tips, doing something I love to do. I'm very pleased...
...and it suddenly occurred to me afterward: if she had called me a month ago, in the depths of my miserable drinking career, I'm quite sure I would've had to turn her down, feeling completely unable to be seen in such a public spotlight either half-drunk or miserably hung over and wracked with anxiety. She really did call quite late in the season; my first gig is a week from Friday.
I truly believe Something waited to put this amazing opportunity in front of me until I was finally sober and confident enough to handle it. I've been grousing lately that not much in my life has changed since getting sober; well...here ya go, Arp, try this on for size! Feeling a little bit blessed, and wanted to share. Thanks for listening.
I've been a paid church musician for twenty years; I've played "out" at special events, dinners, funerals several times; many years ago, I sang and played keyboard at this restaurant a couple of summers in a row; all this to say, it's been a loooong time since I've been offered a paid gig to play for a dinner crowd, so this offer was completely out of nowhere, and took me by surprise. I happily agreed to three Friday nights, once a month, in June, July and August. 6-9 pm, $125 a night, with the chance for some decent tips, doing something I love to do. I'm very pleased...
...and it suddenly occurred to me afterward: if she had called me a month ago, in the depths of my miserable drinking career, I'm quite sure I would've had to turn her down, feeling completely unable to be seen in such a public spotlight either half-drunk or miserably hung over and wracked with anxiety. She really did call quite late in the season; my first gig is a week from Friday.
I truly believe Something waited to put this amazing opportunity in front of me until I was finally sober and confident enough to handle it. I've been grousing lately that not much in my life has changed since getting sober; well...here ya go, Arp, try this on for size! Feeling a little bit blessed, and wanted to share. Thanks for listening.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 937
GREAT! congratulations! I completely understand the alcohol driven compulsion to "hide" from opportunities and how much we miss out on them when actively drinking. Here is a tangible return on your investment in yourself and your sobriety decision.
Self recovered Self discovered
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Toronto Canada
Posts: 5,148
Good stuff there, Broken Chord. I had opportunities present themselves at the right time after getting sober, too. It was a great feeling of excitement and expectation I got when I surprised myself and said, Yes, I'll do it!
Keep saying Yes, I think you are going to like it. For me, this has been so important in securing a permanent and unconditional sobriety. Sobriety has let me build a life that simply has no room in it anymore for alcohol.
Onward!
Keep saying Yes, I think you are going to like it. For me, this has been so important in securing a permanent and unconditional sobriety. Sobriety has let me build a life that simply has no room in it anymore for alcohol.
Onward!
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