From the time we were children, we were taught that life revolves around some kind of work. As a species work is survival, so is reproduction, so is social interaction, all these things teach us how to thrive and function as people, but none of these things happen without work. Work is the most vital piece of our existence; at first it was hunting to find food and shelter to protect us from the elements and predators. It seems though that those of us who cross the line into Alcoholism and Addiction have become reluctant to work, all that mattered was to pursue our self-abuse, but we lose sight of the fact that active addiction to substances is the hardest job on the planet. There has to be constant vigilance to figure out how to feed the beast of our disease. However even in the face of destruction we run from the responsibility of renewing our original lessons of some kind of work ethic. When the program dictated to me to find some kind of faith and then work towards that faith, working with all of the tools of the program, reintroduced to me the concept of working towards survival, I was a dead man when I came in the doors. With the lessons learned, they have helped me survive several challenges that I have had to work through; it was all as a result of the work I had learned in the arms of my Higher Power and the ethics of work to live by. It’s given me life, love, happiness, sadness, courage, perseverance, hope, and a faith that I have to work for. Working towards the Spiritual side of my being is the hardest work I have had to do, because no matter how hard I try, I never reach a goal, to acknowledge the principal of progress not perfection, makes me aware of just how much of a journey life is. The happy destiny all centers in the health I have to have emotionally, joy and all the rest is dependent on my maintaining a spiritual presence in my life and reaching for the closeness not the distance between the Power and I. It is all based on actions, not assumptions, guidance, not withdrawal, service, not personal gains beyond my personal needs, my gifts, not my losses, and Light not darkness, these things are based on me and God’s will for me. I know that many of my prayers have been answered; all by my willingness to be open minded enough to let love in. May I never again be jaded by the contempt of my mind over the love of my heart, everything is based on the love I can give and not the love I take. Thanks.
Peace Out: M copyright 2014

Some of you may or may not understand the musical concept of finding one, finding the one is when your lost in a piece of music, and not able to find your place in the rhythm or time signature, that’s called finding one. Searching for the mathematical equation that leads you to where you should be in the music; this happens in both chord and timing, when performing a piece of music, for me as a percussionist, I must know where the one chord and the one in rhythm are. I also equate this to my sobriety and living, when I find, I am out of sync I must find the one, sometimes I can be twisted in my conception of events that present themselves to me, just like music can. I relate everything to music, even God, I must find that center in the universal oneness, so I can find my place in the music of my life, I know that everyone may not relate to this, but I think our humanity must have song. If we look at any tribal experiences, it has always been communicated through the emotions expressed in our human chant. The thing that centers me the most, is to know that someone cares, I hear it around the rooms, “I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks”, I myself have said it, and that’s not TRUE, I do care, why because we are born caring. Anyone who has raised children knows, and even if you haven’t, we all were children, and what we wanted the most was for someone to care for us. So what I am trying to say is that knowing you care and finding the one that lives in all of us, is the most important thing to this crazy old musician, who loves to love, cares to care, and has to have the ONE in his life, and that I have in a power Greater Than Me, that has shown me more grace, more love, and more truth, in the song we sing together, even when we are all twisted by the rhythm and the notes, of each of our own music. This is what the 12 steps have given me and I live in the gratitude for that GRACE shown me through the care and love in the harmony of the 12 Principals.
Peace Out: M copyright 2014