<root@127.0.0.1> wrote in message news:c9sgd609l1@drn.newsguy.com...

On Sat, 05 Jun 2004 00:22:31 GMT, Tim illuminated us all by typing:

<root@127.0.0.1> wrote in message news:c9qg6v024p@drn.newsguy.com...

On Fri, 04 Jun 2004 16:50:25 GMT, Tim illuminated us all by typing:

It's so funny whenever someone celebrates a birthday, we always ask

them

"How did you do it?" Well, plain and simple, "HOW" is pretty much

exactly

how I did it. First I got HONEST about the fact that I'm a real deal
addict; that I'm powerless over drugs and I am unable to manage my

life on

my own. After attending a few meetings and listening to others share,

I was

able to become OPEN-MINDED to the fact that if other folks were

staying

clean and living happily, there must be hope for me too. Once I came

to

that conclusion, I became WILLING to believe in a Higher Power and

take

suggestion from those who had what I wanted: True happiness and inner
peace.
Tim

When people ask me that, I tell them the simplest answer I can -- that

I didn't

pick up a drink or a drug for a year, no matter how bad (or good)

things may have gotten.

All that other stuff is window dressing.

I sure am glad no one ever said that to me when I was new. It may be

a

simple concept for someone with a little time, but as a newcomer the idea

of

just "not picking up" or just "not using" was completely out of my reach.
It reminds me of Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign.

And I'm glad that I got clean before NA got watered down with all the

new-agey,

touchy-feely stuff that passes for recovery these days...
I found a group of folks who pulled me aside and made things very simple

by

telling me that I had a choice to make: If I wanted a shot at a good life,

I'd

have to stop using drugs -- but if I wanted my life to keep getting worse,

I

could continue what I was doing.
With two exceptions*, those people are still clean and living happy, full

lives.

Unfortunately, the people I see bouncing in and out of meetings are

primarily

the ones who get so caught up in all that other stuff that they forget the
*first* rule in staying clean -- don't pick up the first drug, no matter

what.

You say that what I tell people about staying clean might be a simple

concept

for someone with a little time, but from my own experience, and what I've
witnessed in others' lives, there is no such thing as "too simple" for a
newcomer.
K.I.S.S....
*One was killed by a drunk driver, the other died after a long fight

w/cancer.
Just curious, did you work the 12 steps with a sponsor?
Tim