Skip to main content

Different Path to Recovery

 Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏 I’ve been doing some thinking about my recovery program and I’ve decided it’s time for me to change things up a little. I love Narcotics Anonymous, and I’m grateful for everything NA has given me. But lately, I’ve felt like my recovery has become a little stale. I’m still committed to recovery, but I believe sometimes we have to be willing to step outside of our comfort zone and look at different ways of strengthening our program. Because of that, I’ve been looking into Recovery Dharma as an alternative or something I can add to what I’m already doing. I’m interested in learning something new, gaining a different perspective, and finding practices that help me continue growing spiritually and emotionally. I’ve learned that recovery isn’t a one-size-fits-all journey. What works for one person may not work for another, and that’s okay. The important thing is that we keep moving forward and remain willing to do whatever is necessary to stay clean, ...
1 comment

Optimism and Pessimism

 

Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏

Sometimes, dealing with life on life’s terms means I have to change my perspective. In a simplified way, I have two choices: I can be optimistic, or I can be pessimistic.

If I choose pessimism, everything becomes a problem. Things aren’t going the way I want, and before long I’m dissatisfied, frustrated, and angry. But when I choose optimism, I can look at the same situation differently. I can choose to see the cup as half full instead of half empty.

Take today, for example. I have an appointment and I need to make a two-hour drive to get to an NA meeting. I could sit here and think, “This is going to suck. I’m going to be stuck in the car for two hours dealing with traffic.” Or I can look at it differently. I can look forward to going to my meeting, seeing some old friends, and being surrounded by people who understand this journey.

I also know that at my appointment, I’m going to get the medication I need. I’m not exactly thrilled about getting a shot in the ass, but I know it’s something that is going to help me in the long run. Sometimes recovery means doing things we don’t particularly enjoy because we know they are good for us.

That’s life in recovery. We don’t always get to choose what happens, but we do get to choose how we respond to it. We can focus on everything that’s wrong, or we can look for the good that’s still there.

Today, I’m choosing gratitude over resentment, acceptance over resistance, and hope over negativity. I’m choosing to look for the lesson instead of complaining about the circumstance. My attitude can change my entire day, and sometimes changing my perspective is all it takes to see that things aren’t nearly as bad as I first thought.

So today, let’s keep our heads up and our hearts open. Take life one day at a time. When things get difficult, pause, breathe, pray, and reach out. We don’t have to face this life alone.

One day at a time.
Easy does it.
Keep coming back.
Progress, not perfection.
Just for today, stay clean.
When we get clean, we get to live.
One is too many and a thousand is never enough.
Keep it simple.
Let go and let God.
Trust the process, work the program, and keep moving forward.

With love and gratitude,
Gary G.

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 17, 2026 at 4:35 PM

    Thanks again Gary another great and inspiring message TV instead of mentioning about perspective How I view my day I will determine what kind of a day I’m going to have That’s the choice I’m able to make.. And then you made another great point that I can’t control the action but I can’t control how I react to it. I for that I’m truly grateful. Take care and God bless you and your family

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Self-Sabotage in Recovery

Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏 One of the biggest dangers in both active addiction and recovery is self-sabotage. A lot of us think relapse happens only when life gets bad. But the truth is, for many addicts, relapse can also happen when life starts getting good. Why? Because our brains became conditioned to chaos, pain, destruction, and survival mode. In active addiction, we trained ourselves—over and over again—to live in dysfunction. We got used to crisis. We got used to shame. We got used to tearing things down before life could tear them down for us. That is why self-sabotage is so common in recovery. When things finally begin to improve—when relationships heal, when peace shows up, when hope returns, when bills are getting paid, when we begin feeling proud of ourselves—that unfamiliar peace can actually feel threatening. To a brain that spent years wired for destruction, stability can feel uncomfortable. Safety can feel suspicious. Joy can feel foreign. That old addict...
4 comments
Read more

The Struggle is Real

Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏 I just want to say how grateful I am for life today. It has been a struggle, and I’ve dealt with a lot of hard things—just like so many of you have. We all have different stories, and every single one of them is unique, powerful, and deeply meaningful. No two journeys are exactly the same, but we all know what it means to fight for our lives. I also want to share something I just realized today: as you read this, I have 9 months and 4 days clean. That is a huge milestone for me. To some people, that might sound like a short amount of time—but to me, it is a lifetime. After more than 20 years in addiction, and 10 of those years trying to truly find recovery, this means everything to me. This is more than clean time. This is freedom. This is peace. This is proof that change is possible. One of the biggest things I’ve learned along the way is the importance of trusting a Higher Power. In Narcotics Anonymous and other fellowships, surrendering to a High...
2 comments
Read more

Life on Life's Terms

 Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏 Life on life's terms. What does that really mean? For many of us, recovery has taught us that life doesn't always go according to our plans. In active addiction, we often tried to control everything around us—people, situations, outcomes, emotions, and circumstances. When things didn't go our way, frustration, anger, resentment, fear, and self-pity would often follow. Today, recovery teaches us a different path. Living life on life's terms means accepting reality as it is, not as we wish it would be. It means understanding that we cannot control the weather, other people's actions, traffic, illness, financial setbacks, disappointments, or unexpected challenges. What we can control is how we respond to those things. Recovery doesn't promise us a life free from hardship. It doesn't guarantee that every day will be easy, that relationships will always work out, or that pain will never visit our lives. What recovery does prov...
2 comments
Read more