Thanksgiving - Giving Thanks & Gratitude

November 25. Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I hope your holiday was well spent & filled with the light of the spirit. I know that my day was certainly spiked with moments of spiritual bliss, a few not so grand moments on my part, and alot of great thankful hearts surrounding me. I started my day off w/ an afternoon dinner, my sisters, parents, nephew & nieces, and my funny brother in law. The tone at dinner was one of family, everything tasted great & even the kids ate well like they are supposed to. I was up a little late so after eating it was time for a little nap & I awoken to cake being served to my niece as we celebrate her birthday on the holiday today as well. The babies had cake & adults had pie & other great desserts mom & dad made over the course of last night. What a treat to wake up to see the youth in their element & the adults all smiling as I joined them. I could not have asked for a better day other than to be a little less tired, but I am thankful I was able to get some rest & take care of myself as I should. Everyone left the house, having stops & visits to make & I kept myself entertained for an hour or two until my sister came back to take me to my meeting. It took me a while to get ready & she was early, after getting to the store on the way I realized I forgot the key to the building & upon slamming the car door in frustration w/ myself I stepped on the top of the pie I was bringing, thankfully wrapped in plastic. I let myself get mad at myself, but it only took a short ride to get the key & some thought of my gratitude today for life itself, and I was back in a good spot spiritually for the meeting.

So many more people showed up than I had though, it was a heart filling experience to be honored to chair a Holiday meeting & see so much support & friendship gathered. After a great friend as the speaker we all shared on the subject of gratitude & it seems like a great topic to write about tonight as it coincides with the holiday itself. I didn't know what gratitude was going to do for my life in the beggining of this sober journey, but I heard people tell me repeatedly that it was something I needed to learn to have. I even heard people say they were grateful to be alcoholic or addicts, initially that puzzled me, but today I know why. Having the 12 Steps & the fellowship I am with today in my life is something to be grateful for, without being an alcoholic & drug addict I would never have met these people or found these principles working in my life today. That is something to be grateful for, something that did not come easy & I had to learn like an ecrypted code how to decipher. It's not just on Thanksgiving that we need to have gratitude, every day we have it & make a point at finding things we are grateful for, is another day we have a helpful tool in staying sober. Gratitude gives us a reason to do service work for others, and to carry the message of hope to those who arent yet convinced or haven't found the way yet. We give thanks any way we can, sometimes verbally, sometimes with gifts, sometimes with a handshake, but the best way we can give thanks to those who it matters the most is to live Sober & Spiritually as well to carry an attitude of gratitude as often as we possibly can.

Of all the ways to give thanks, I enjoy giving back to people who need it. Not money, because I don't have financial riches to bless others with, and not always in a measurable way like a gift or gesture. Instead I give of myself, whatever use I can be to a person, cause, or fellowship & the thing I give the most in gratitude today is probably my appreciation & time. There are so many ways to give thanks, but we don't always know what we are grateful for. It was suggested long ago & still is suggested places I go today, that I make a Gratitude List that I can reflect on to remember all the things I am grateful for in my life sober today. I have made some of these lists throughout my sobriety, sometimes on a napkin or scrap of paper, sometimes in a journal or other writing, and I think that they genuinely help my spirituality & growth in sobriety. If I remember what I am grateful for in my sober life, then the reasons not to return to the hell of my active addiction are clear at any given moment. Its the difficult moments when its heard to keep our gratitude, in those moments the fellowships & friends as well as family have helped keep my sobriety intact & helped pass the time needed for the gratitude to return. Phone numbers, visits w/ sober friends, spending quality time w/ people I love, and going to fellowship groups to listen & learn about the Steps is all ways to build my gratitude. Another great way is to just experience life in a sober manner, living in the light of the spirit has given me a higher form of gratitude at times, and that is something I am most grateful for. Happy Holidays everyone. The warmest time of the year is upon us, if we only look past the ice & snow & embrace the warmth of spiritual living. Good Night.. Good Morning.. <3 Jimmy