The Gifts of Sobriety - What I Didn't Know About Recovery Before I Got Sober

The Gifts of Sobriety

What I Didn't Know About Recovery Before I Got Sober

While I was still drinking  I had no idea what it would be like to be sober.  In the brief moments I contemplated not drinking, I thought all the fun would stop and I'd be sentenced to a life of misery without alcohol.  My delusional thinking told me everything was just fine when in reality, I had a lot of shame about my behaviors while under the influence of alcohol.  No one told me how incredible life in recovery would be.

Here are just a few of the many gifts of sobriety I didn't know which were waiting for me in recovery.

• I’d have so much fun AND remember it!
• Everything can be healed.
• Relationships with my kids would be tender and real.
• I’d be given a peace I’d never known.
• I’d learned to ask for help.
• I would never have to be alone.
• I’d have a solution to all my fears.
• I’d find a God of my understanding.
• I’d meet the most amazing friends.
• I’d learned to forgive others and myself.
• I’d find my amazing authentic self, which was buried under all my wounds, fears, and resentments.
• I’d do things I never thought I could do.
• Loneliness would subside. 
• I could trust my intuition. 
• I’m not a bad person I just have a really bad dis-ease called alcoholism.
• It’s ok to make mistakes. 
• The only person I can change is me.
• Acceptance is the key to all my problems. 
• Forgiveness is the key to freedom.
• Self-pity keeps me stuck.
• I'd learn to like and love myself.
• I’m not a victim and I always have choices.
• I do matter.
• I am enough.
• I am light and love.
• I’d be given a life beyond my wildest dreams. 

As each day passes, I continue to be amazed by the gifts of sobriety I've been so blessed to receive.  Everything about my life that is good is because of my sobriety.