IF THE ONLY PRAYER YOU SAID IN YOUR LIFE WAS "THANK YOU", THAT WOULD SUFFICE. ~Meister Eckhart

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

10.27.09

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. ~Plato
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Today I am grateful...
  • for the perfect day off yesterday. Gray, dark, rainy day. I shopped for eyeglasses--frames are just too expensive (the ones I want). I visited thrift stores and found some great buys. At the grocery store I told a woman her little round eyeglasses were great. She had boxes of chocolates, boxes of wine and 4 umbrellas in her cart. I mentioned she was having a party and she commented the wine was good to which I said there wasn't enough wine in that store for me. That led to a conversation about me being in AA, that she took her best friend for her 50th birthday to New Orleans and found a meeting for she and her friend to attend at Lambda N.O. Then I relayed the story about Lambda Houston setting up the first gay and lesbian hospitality suite at the N.O. national AA convention some 25+ years ago. She mentioned that we have a lesbian running for mayor and four other candidates for city positions are gay or lesbian. The chocolates were for her son in college, the 4 umbrellas were for her daughter and her friends in the car pool because they are not smart enough to get out of the rain. It was a charming interaction with a stranger, something again that would not have happened if I were still drinking. I gave her my card and she asked what I did, I said I painted and she said she would keep up with that!
  • that in the Beginners meeting last night I was shown again that it is what I can bring to a meeting, not to be uncomfortable when the disease is bubbling in the room at eye level
  • that I am back on my restricted eating plan and am down three pounds from Sunday
  • that lately I have felt so good mentally, emotionally and spiritually that it is hard to imagine it getting better, but life keeps on doing just that

I am of some use in the world. I have a purpose in life. I am worth something at last. My life has a direction and a meaning. All that feeling of futility is gone. I can do something worthwhile. God has given me a new lease on life so that I can help other alcoholics. He has let me live through all the hazards of my alcoholic life to bring me at last to a place of real usefulness in the world. He has let me live for this. This is my opportunity and my destiny. I am worth something! ~Twenty-Four Hours a Day

9 comments:

kberman said...

Thanks for your gratitude. It helped me to remember that I need to be working on my A-Z gratitude list to carry with me. Because when I'm out in the world, I forget to be thankful for everything. I live with "everything is exactly as it should be, or it would be different". It helps me to remember Who is in charge of my life. I am the clay and He is the potter. Love, Kathy kathyberman.com.

dAAve said...

Yes, I've noticed a lot of bubbling lately. This doesn't fare well for the upcoming holiday season. Well, not for them, at least.

Syd said...

What a day you had and what a great list today. It is beyond explaining how God intercedes to put me where I need to be.

JeremyRT said...

Beautiful words today - I adore that Plato quote

I also adore being useful as a result of being sober. Great grocery story!

Bill said...

That story about you & the lady at the grocery store is what it's all about. It made me smile!

Tall Kay said...

I'll bet she's still talking about the nice artist she met at the store! Here's a "pinch"...just so you know you're not dreaming! Life does keep getting better!

Mary Christine said...

Conversations with strangers are a lot of fun, aren't they?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the sweet story, love those kinds of experiences. Loved the quotes. Happy for you. ~ peace.

Scott M. Frey said...

I LOVe striking up conversations with people I have never met. It amazes me how there almost always seems to be a connexion of some sort!