Blog entry for:

what if you owned something more precious than the hope diamond, the only catch is that you have to go out with your gift every day and display it for all to see? you would of course take whatever precautions you needed to, to protect your gift, wouldn't you?
well i look at my recovery as a precious gift, beyond any means of placing a monetary value on, you know priceless! the part of me i call my disease waits patiently for the opportunity to spring a trap and rob me of my recovery. so here i am with the gift beyond all price, and a thief waiting in the wings to steal away with it, what exactly am i supposed to do?
well this seemingly unsolvable dilemma does have a solution for me and it is quite simple -- do what ever it takes to not use today! the most amazing part of that statement is that it applies just as much today as it did three thousand and thirty four days ago! the only thing that has changed is the amount of tools and methods i have to apply to the task at hand. if i want to keep my gift and show it to the entire world by living the principles of the program, i must remain vigilant and practice a few simple suggestions. you know the same thing i have been hearing since i got clean

• go to meetings
• read the literature
• talk to another addict
• call my sponsor
• and work the steps.

nothing new and different in that little list, same old stuff but instead of calling it getting clean, i can call it being vigilant and guarding my recovery from return to active addiction. it is after all a matter of relativity after all.
and with that all i have left to say is happy new year one and all!
∞ DT ∞