Gratitude Through Second Chances

I wrote this in 2011.  After my health issues from last year, it's nice to see how some beliefs were already in place.

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What makes what I do so special or unique with Creating Dreams?  What is it in my books that make me different then others?  I have some ideas… and that is all they are ideas.

The simple fact is my name is Dave and I am an alcoholic… and an addict… and a codependent… and an adult child.  What I do is not unique or special.  I share my experience, strength, and hope, with my dream being able to help some person… somewhere in this world.

I used to say somewhere in America, but I have made numerous friends throughout the world.  Sometimes, these connections become good close friendships, while at other times we enter each others lives for a brief moment and then go our own ways.

That does not make those short connections any less valuable or significant.  We are all on this earth, doing the best we can to make our lives enjoyable and even productive.

I don’t mean productive in a financial sense, but productive in making not only our lives more enjoyable but also the lives of others who come into contact with us.  I once read online a woman who was grateful with her husband’s job.  Now that is sad.

For me being productive means being comfortable in my own skin.  It doesn't have to be driving in a brand new car or driving an old rust bucket from the 80s.  It’s not about what the world sees but rather what we see when we look in the mirror.

I have a special place in my heart for different stereo-types in our society.  I was homeless for well over a year.  I got into this place because of my alcoholism and addictions, but after I got there I saw how hard it is to get out of that mess.

I also ran into many different people when I was homeless and met many folks who never drank or did drugs.  They got caught in that game of Russian roulette of living paycheck to paycheck and when their job was gone… their home was close behind.

I can’t open my doors to these people and invite them in, but I also don’t need to judge them, without knowing them.  That is what I write about… my experience, my strengths, and my hopes.

I won’t throw any facts and figures at you with what I write, instead I may mention the time in the middle of the winter, hitch-hiking through Utah, I crawled into a sleeping bag under a bridge… I put my dog inside the sleeping bag trying to keep us both warm.

I thought I would die that night and was awoken the next morning by a Utah State Trooper, who also thought I had died.

I can look back at my life, and look at a couple of car crashes where I should have been killed… an overdose… having a gun pointed at me… and wonder what in the world am I doing here.

My Higher Power has kept me alive and yes has taught me.  He has taught me an “Attitude of Gratitude.”  Today I am happy to still have some brain cells that work and that I can openly share my story.

It is an attitude not of cockiness but gratitude to my Higher Power.  Gratitude for everything and yet nothing.  Everything I have is because my Higher Power has given me a second chance at life.  And with this life I also realize that nothing I have is forever if I don’t nourish it and cherish it.

Again, that starts with my Higher Power, if I don’t stay close with Him, I already have one foot back on the streets.

So today, I will thank God for my sobriety and all the gifts it has brought.  I will also thank God for the people in my life because it is through them that I get to know my Higher Power a little better.

Nothing is forever… so today I will not take it for granted and will enjoy it to the best of my ability…