Clean and Sober reminders and keepsakes. From one Fellow to another
I am so honored! Some of my artwork has been chosen to be showcased at Stepping Stones, the historic home of Bill and Lois Wilson, respective co-founders of Alcoholic Anonymous and Al-Anon in Bedford, NY. Stepping Stones www.steppingstones.org operates as a historic home museum and has a gift shop on site and will be selling some of my jewelry.
Read MoreI may be clean and sober for nine years now, but alcoholism and addiction is alive and well in my family. I’m sick of it and I want it to go away, but I have to deal with it AGAIN and AGAIN. I want to share a letter I wrote a friend one today: My friend, I know you are angry, confused and hurt right now. I know because I’ve been there. About 10 years ago, my life was a shambles, my marriage was falling apart, I hated everybody and…
Read MoreMarijuana has become the most widely consumed illegal drug in the world. Since 1990, marijuana usage has doubled in the US and Canada. Today’s marijuana is so potent that the United Nations has considered reclassifying it as a different drug from the 1960’s counterpart. Although there is still a perceived notion that pot it is relatively benign, it is far from being a soft drug. The main reason is that today’s marijuana has been re-engineered to produce a high level of Tetra Hydro-Cannabinol or THC, its active ingredient. The levels…
Read MoreWhen I was using, sometimes I felt like I was living in solitary confinement. My addiction was my incarceration–a lonely, frightening and lifeless jail of my own doing. Now that I’m clean and sober there is a whole dimension of solitude I’ve learned to embrace rather than fear. During my first year of sobriety, dealing with solitude was difficult. Like many others entering recovering, I had to let go of friends who used and using patterns I had developed that were social. Although I had developed other social networks with…
Read MoreI just wrote an essay on why sobriety anniversaries are so important. Check it out at http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Importance-of-the-Sobriety-Annivers
Read MoreIt’s a rainy, foggy day and although I like the rain, today’s rain is reflecting my dark and somber mood. I had all these plans to be productive today but somehow I let my mood take over, simply relenting to the dark side. The problems in life overshadowing my plans, poor me. In my using days, these kinds of days really lent themselves to being stoned. I felt crappy so I got high. It would make me feel better, an instant bliss until it wore off and I’d get high…
Read MoreWe’ve heard it before that people in recovery have it especially hard during the holidays. Everything from bad memories associated with drinking/using, to seeing loved ones out of control, to having to resist those urges to partake in a little holiday cheer like the rest of society. The holidays are the ultimate test of the addict/alcoholic’s commitment to sobriety. I personally don’t like the holidays much. I’m not a very christmasy person, not being traditional makes me feel bad, not giving in to the mass-consumerism makes me feel guilty and not…
Read MoreThe other day while I was at work, (yes, do have a day job as being an artist doesn’t pay all the bills), one of my co-workers made a comment along the lines of, “Why would anyone celebrate being sober?” To that I replied, “For some people who have nearly destroyed their lives with drugs, alcohol or any other addictions, one more year of sobriety is a big freaking deal.” Of course, my co-worker is not in recovery and for people outside the community, the idea of celebrating sobriety seems…
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