Celebrate Good Times - How Personal Growth Really Affects Others

March 29. Well the week is officially off to a good start. Hope its great for all of you friends out there. The weekend was long but productive both monetarily & in opportunity. I will be going solo as of this week with all my business ventures, the partners have left for other opportunities. As far as today goes, I was off to a slow start. I couldn't accomplish anything constructive and had some back problems. Every monday has been achy for me lately, I assume its from the concrete floors at the market & my lack of sitting down due to excitement. The price of progress I suppose. But when I did get started up fully and ate dinner I made a dash for the door, heading to MARS Group to go find some serenity. I found that and more as the crowd was small and topic focused. After a great round of sharing & taking in as much as I could learn I headed out to Moscow where three people were celebrating their years of Sobriety. Between the three there was 17 years of Sobriety, no small feat and nothing to refrain from being excited about.

A topic came to mind that was not crossed during that celebration though & it seems to be important. Why celebrate? One good reason is to feel good about the accomplishment of continued Sobriety, to rejoice for one more year on the right path. But there is a deeper and less selfish reason that people often don't think of. I say this because there are many people who do not celebrate every year, in fact some would rather not have a big deal made of their time in Sobriety. This takes so much power away from the 12 step program, and if I may, I would love to explain why.

Not only the acknowledgement, but the celebration too, of each passing year of Sobriety has an effect on others that truly cannot be measured. The effect is entirely positive. By celebrating these milestones we offer hope to those who have not yet crossed that amount of Sober time in their life yet. We show that it can be done. If one of us chooses not to celebrate, we may have literally blown off that one person who can relate to only us. We may never show them that its not only possible, but enjoyable to be Sober for our accumulated amount of time.

So when we think that our celebration is for "us", we need to think again. It is for the entire fellowship, it is a statement of truth that continuous Sobriety can be achieved by following it's suggestions. That statement is given, it does not need to even be said should someone chose to celebrate publicly. The message and power behind it is one that continues to make the movement of Sobriety grow and live in the hearts of so many. And when a celebrant gives the credit to the 12 step fellowship and to their higher power, it shows the realness of it all & fills others with the same beleif that we hold close to our hearts.

Celebrate every moment, if not for yourself or for the glory of what's saved you, then for the ones who still suffer. Do it for the ones who have not yet been convinced or have not yet found their way. You CAN influence the hearts of others, you CAN have a voice of positivity without saying a word. Just by recieving the moment in front of others you inspire me personally. I am further convinced with every celebration that I attend, that my life is on the course it should indefinitely be & that the light of the spirit shines on my every step towards lasting recovery. Do it for yourself, do it for your higher power, do it for the fellowship, and do it for others.. Just Do It! .. Good Night.. Good Morning.. <3 Jimmy