Welcome to Weekenders 15 - 18 January 2021
 

I am Grateful.



No, I’m not preaching, or being a smart ass, or being religious.



When I read about practicing gratitude I thought yeah, course I’m grateful. No need for me to shout about it. :dunno:



I must’ve mentioned it before that when I read on another thread one of SR members, of whom I have a great respect for, said they practice gratitude every day. I was curious.



I mean of course I’m thankful for what I have and for the biggie, finding sobriety. So why practice it every day.



But curiosity got the better of me and I went into the Gratitude thread and posted I was grateful for being sober.



I started posting every morning anything I had to be thankful for in that moment.



I was grateful for my morning coffee,

For the roof over my head,

For the birds on the tree,

For the bright moon,

For covid vaccines being rolled out.



Sometimes I didn’t feel I had anything to be thankful for really, but I wrote down something for that moment.



And after a while, something changed in me.

My outlook changed. Instead of looking at all the negative in my life, I looked toward the positive.

Which at this moment in time is good for me.



I found a balance from sobriety and now gratitude which focused me.



It didn’t happen overnight, the same as getting sober didn’t either.



I am a work in progress. But for once in my life I feel grounded.



I’ve travelled a few miles on the sober road and I will collect many ‘tools’ on my travels to add to my ‘toolbox’ that may help me on my way.





If this is your first weekend sober, or many, come join us for support and chat...as we know the weekends can be a struggle sometimes. (We’re here all week too!) :)

Merci Mags :)

I'm grateful for everything to be honest. Coming up on ten months and so happy.
Alcohol had made my life so uncontrollable and so painful. Relapsing and hopelessness feeling beaten.
DENIAL is so hard to overcome, to admit addiction has kicked your butt (“don't even notice I am lying”)
If you are starting out or have a few months like me just be grateful your here and look to the positive cause it's there.
Take the advice of people with years of sobriety cause there is a 99.99% chance they have been where you are or were.

My little addition to the great OP.

I'm IN
Vinny

Hi Vinny, good post! :thanks

Thanks Mags and Vinny :)

D

thanks Mags :tyou

I'm grateful for Test Match Special - I'm listening to the cricket on the radio & it's rather a nice bit of normality. :)

Lovely posts, Mags and Vinny.

I'm in for weekend number TWELVE!! And I'm so, so grateful for that as well as all the other wonderful things in my life.

Being in the throes of addiction narrows your focus to just yourself and your pain. Letting go of addiction helps you to see outside to the world beyond and to appreciate the wonder of it all ❤❤❤

Enjoy your cricket Andy, I used to love the commentary for cricket on the radio....so entertaining.

Devizes 12 weeks, wow, they’re really mounting up. :You_Rock_

Thanks Mags and hello to all Weekenders :wave:

I'm IN!

Test Match Special - that brings back memories of long gone summer days of either listening to TMS on the radio or watching the cricket on TV. It may not be summer outside but this music brings it all back to me...

congrats Devizes:)

D

Robbie, oh yes! Me too!

I'm in.
Shotgun? Do we still do that?

Great OP, Mags, thanks for that. I should start my daily gratitude practice again. I used to do it, earlier in sobriety, when the world was pretty dark for me. Things are mostly better now, but I still have times when I feel pretty cynical and thinking about good things I'm grateful for would help my mood, if nothing else.

Today I'm grateful for being able to work from home, when a snowstorm is approaching.

Congratulations on 12 weeks, Devizes. Keep that going!

In for another sober weekend. Thanks Mags as ever for this thread.

Marty, yes! Congratulations on shotgun! :c011:

Good to see you Reid.

I’m here x

Hi Manta :wavey: have you got the snow. It didn’t settle here.

Thanks, Mags. Sweet, sweet gratitude -;magical.

Well done, Devizes!

Booker T & the MGs - oh my goodness, I haven’t thought of them in years; thanks, Robbie.

:wave:, Manta, Mags, Vman, Reid, MLD (stay safe in the storm), Dee, andyh and everybody.

Love to all.

Hey Mags, it snowed all day but it’s been a bit smushy and more sleety than proper snow. If it freezes overnight we’re in trouble but let’s see how it goes. I now have 3 interviews lined up but only one I genuinely care about (others would just be a wage).

How’s the rest of you doing? x

Hi weekenders! It's been a while I've joined a weekender but continuing lockdown has me feel a little too isolated and I am need some more ways to be social!

I liked the opener Mags. I started writing a gratitude list every night in early sobriety and did so for a year or so. It really did change me and my approach to life and people. In my teens I had become a bit of a cynical know it all and frankly a bit paranoid of people or viewing them as a mass ob stupid, inefficient blobs. I spend so much time worrying about what could go wrong, obsessing about what's not right and so on. I wouldn't go as far as saying that it's only been practicing gratitude but it was one of the things that helped and changed me the most in sobriety!

Thanks Mags, for the brilliant OP. Gratitude is central to my sober-life. Even if it's just saying in the morning, thank you for my and my pets waking up to a new day - and in the evening, thank you for my and my pets still being alive, having eaten, drank and exercised and now all able to go safely to bed/. Gratitude really, really helps me.