Daily Recovery Blog
Sunday Dec 5, 2021
"A hug is a handshake from the heart." - Ohio Suzie
HUGS NOT DRUGSI must admit that this slogan seemed childish the first time I
heard it. I was full of false pride when I arrived. I wanted
others to see me as a tough guy. I had drug dealer mentality. I
made sure I gave you the leave me alone look after the meeting
was over. I was not into other males hugging me. I could not tell
you the last time I had hugged my dad. After a week or two of
meetings, and a few pretty girls, I started tolerating the hugs.
Later in my recovery, and a few thousand hugs under my belt, I
looked forward to the hugs. I even recall reading in a health
magazine that a child should get three hugs a day. I guess I was
making up for lost time. One awakening I had about hugs was when
I was about 5 years clean. My friend, Sam and I, were giving a
rather young addict rides to meetings. His name was Todd and he
was 13 years old. One evening his mother called us into her house
to ask us a question. She explained her concerns. She said when
Todd was using drugs he was seldom home with his family. Now he
was in recovery every night, we would pick him up to go to a
meeting, and still he was seldom home with his family. She asked
if we put the meetings on television. That way he could have a
meeting and still be home with his family. Sam and I were
somewhat taken back by her comments. We looked at each other
hoping one of us had a response. There was a moment of silence.
Then Todd spoke up, and he said "Mom, you can't hug a TV".
"I love hugging. I wish I was an octopus, so I could hug ten
people at a time." - Drew Barrymore
Saturday Dec 4, 2021
"Don't forget that the world record is 24 hours." - Henry S.
SIMPLICITY IS THE KEYAs I recall, I complicated the easiest things. When I stopped
using drugs, I was a scatterbrain. My feelings were thawing out.
I was very fragile. I was overly sensitive to self. On a daily
basis, fear ruled my behaviors. I was 27 years old. I felt 13.
Paranoia consumed most of my waking hours. It is amazing how a
simple cliché like "Keep It Simple" could affect one's life. I
memorized the serenity prayer. It became my mantra. Most days I
used it several times. We had a little white booklet. It
contained about nine of our pamphlets. I remember hearing it
called hip pocket recovery, don't leave home without it. I took
that to heart. I wore out plenty of white booklets sitting on
toilet seats reading the chapter "What Can I Do?" until the urges
passed. The year was 1982. We did not have cell phones. Making
contact with each other was not always easy. There was only one
meeting a day, and most of us had to carpool. Some days, meetings
were a 40 minute drive each way. Those days may sound
complicated, but they were actually very simple. We needed each
other. We needed to not use and go to meetings.
"The simplest things are often the truest." - Richard Bach
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