Working What Works

October 14. Hello everbody. Its been a few weeks since I have written in this blog. I'd like to say I have a good excuse for that, but I don't. Part of my crazy thinking challenged the effectiveness of this outlet I call a blog, another part didn't know what to say, among a thousand other thoughts. Since my last post I have managed to stay sober, all through the grace of my higher power & also great people at the great meetings I attend. Without those friends I would not have been led to the life I live today, free of drugs & alcohol and growing in spirit & health. Sometimes I wonder what I was spared for, but then I think of those who lead me to the message of hope & the program that does allow recovery & I realize that I may have been spared to help someone else. Even if no one reads this blog anytime soon, someday someone might & I may be able to help them. Carrying the message everywhere I go is another way to fullfill that purpose, if it is what is meant for me. When someone has saved your life, they are a hero of sorts, and the 12 Steps & those teaching me how to work them in my life have done just that.. they are heroes. I lost a friend last monday, thankfully she died sober & she will always be remembered. Her name was April, and she was a fantastic mother, grandmother, and a honest.. good person. We celebrated our first year sober together & looked forward to many more. She pulled no punches & I know that if nobody else wanted me to continue my works, she would certainly wish that I did. Thanks for all the laughs & smiles April, the sober way, you will never be forgotten by so many. When we look at how quickly our lives can change or be over, I personally think about what time is left. How can I do the most good, touch the most lives, and live my own both happy & free? The way to do that is "Working What Works".

When it comes to doing what works, working what works, I don't know much about it. For a decade & a half I did what didn't work & found new ways to bury my thoughts & emotions from having to find a way that life did work for me & those around me. That just shows how insane of an alcoholic I was & can be if I ever return to the drink or drugs. Working what works is what inspired me to return to writing in this blog, because for so long it has brought me a sense of helpfulness, usefulness, and peace at the end of the day. I have needed peace for the past two weeks, my mind has been in a million places & unresting, and where the mind goes the body follows so I have not physically rested well either. As a part of taking care of myself I must take care of my mind, body & spirit. The first step was staying stopped when it came to drugs & alcohol, the second part is doing things to recover from the state of existance I put myself in. The topic at tonight's meeting was about fixing the wreckage of our past, I know no better way to begin than with growing in stability & spirituality within. It allows us to be better fit to do the repairs we must do later on to clean our side of the street. Since the beginning going to meetings has "worked for me" so I have never stopped going & probably never will, but just for today I need a meeting & tomorrow is a new day if I am granted it. Also calling other alcoholics in recovery has worked for me, when I let up on that I begin to suffer the consequences of isolation. And finally, this blog has worked for me.. time & again. It has helped me vent feelings, clear the air, talk about things that apply to my life & even inspire a few others in the past. It's functionality in my life is irrecplacable, perhaps in the future something else may take the place of what this offers both me & others, but until then I must work with it, it works. Its important when things are working for us to not go through major changes or cut things out of our lives, because we might soon find that things are no longer working for us.. that might just be because we cut out what was working. It's as simple as realizing it, perhaps through the help of others, and returning to what we have proven helpful in our lives. It feels good to have written on these pages again, as so many other things in sobriety feel. That great sense of feeling being unmatchable by any high or drunk in my past. Thanks for blogging in, Good Night.. Good Morning.. <3 Jimmy