I first came into the rooms of recovery in 1981, I didn’t get clean and sober until 1989. I remember my first meeting, it was in Hollywood, Ca on Yucca St. I walked in and the room was packed, guite a mixed group, a mixture of straight and not straight people. Some looked very normal but most were very eclectic looking, artist types. This was kind perfect for me being a muscian, but even though this was sort of an enviroment I was used to, I still managed to set myself apart from you, I was diffrent! I was dressed in a very fasionable way, nice clothes, clean, but on the inside I was dirty and grimy as any alcoholic on skid row, I just didn’t know it. I was blinded by the haze of the illusion, and filled with contempt. Standing next to me was a guy in a dirty trench coat, and an oder the mixtue of sweat, urine, booze, and street stench. In my head he is the one who had the problem, all I needed was another drink, and a snort. I now realize that this brother probably had more of a desire to get sober than me, I had to be there because of the court, he was there on his own volition, maybe for the coffee but that was still more of a desire than mine. It took me another 8 years to find the desire to want to stay sober, and when I got here I wasn’t to far off from my brother. When I see men and woman come to find sobriety, they most likely stay. It is in the seeking and the desire that we find the power, that hands us the keys to the kingdom, of a life based on infinite spirit rather than finite self. Thanks for the call.
Peace Out: M copyright 2014

It is so easy to fall from gratitude, for me it usually happens when things aren’t going my way. I tend to forget that all I have is a gift. Everyday sober and above ground is more than i could ever have thought possible. If you would have asked me when I first rasied my hand and said “my name is Michael, and I am an Alcoholic ” there is noway I would have been able to understand what was in store. A friend shared with me the concept of learning to stay grateful when things are going great, without starting to think these things I’ve done right, are the reason they are good. The truth is in there somewhere, right actions general produce good results, but if they don’t why is that? Most likely the answer is that we bring ego into everything we do, even in our prayers generally ego is lurking there some place. We are told that ego must be smashed, we must find humility, however humility can end with a pat on the back. The only way I can stay grateful on a daily basis is to remember, from were I came from. The road is long, the work continues, the blessings are many, and I have to be grateful in every season of each minute. I didn’t do it right, God makes it right for me.
Peace Out : M copyright 2014