There are those

[Heavenly]

There are those

Well said Mags ... as usual thought provoking and ''real'' ......

[Beaches]

There are those

Thanks Mags, your words are powerful.

[livingfree]

There are those

Mags;628938 wrote: let's celebrate, to some small extent, our specialness. For some reason, we got chosen for the ultimate challenge, but we took it head on, and overcame it.

Wow Mags ... if this isn't one for the "keepers" I don't know what is. I have felt so ashamed for so long for my "lot in life" ... but you are so absolutely right.... we have been allowed to walk this path in life, so that we could have the chance to climb our own Mt. Everst. Some will die trying to climb it, some will stand at the peak and others will almost make it to the top, and climb down because it is so difficult ... but still all the same ... each was chosen for the ultimate fight ... the ultimate challenge. WOW.

You are the deep thinker amongst us. I love your thoughts. Thanks Mags :sendinglove:

[Popeye]

There are those

It took me a long time to muster the strength to stop drinking. When I came here, I really thought that I had to stop; I know I did, but I didn't really want to. There was always that little bit of me that thought I'd get better and be able to handle it like most other people seem to.
My ex-wife, who is my friend still, and has known me all my adult life, and a few others often asks questions about how I felt at a certain stage or say someting about being able to drink socially in future, because that's what people do. I'll try and answer as best I can and they'll agree or disagree but always with that puzzled look that I'm sure we're all familiar with, and I'll know that they don't understand.
I've reached a point now, where I am totally comfortable being a non-drinker. I don't get embarrassed at social occasions or uptight when others are drinking. To me, now, not drinking seems as natural a life-choice as drinking is; perhaps even more so. I have made some simple lifestyle decisions and changed my thinking about a few of the fundaments of simply 'being'.
Finding the right balance is a direct consequence of finding this place. I came here a sad and desperate man, with no idea of how to get myself out of the pickle I was in, and found a wonderful group of people travelling the same path who likewise were finding there own way through the fog.
I'm not very far along the path in terms of time, but I have replaced some very deeply entrenched and dangerously flawed ideologies with a new and much simpler way of thinking about life. I've cleaned out a lot of the mental clutter that was plaguing my mind. I have used this period of sobriety to re-establish a sense of peace that I had as a young boy and that I traded in to fit in with what I saw as normality.
I won't be drinking again and if that makes me special, then that's what I am, just like the others who have chosen this life of clarity and peace.

[Guitarista]

There are those

Nice one Pop's. Yep, we are special indeed!

[Heavenly]

There are those

Popeye;635154 wrote:
I won't be drinking again and if that makes me special, then that's what I am, just like the others who have chosen this life of clarity and peace.

Yep, it does ....

[Cinders]

There are those

Mags and Popeye,

Clarity and peace.

Whatever it takes.

Thank you Mags and thank you Popeye,
Clarity and Peace,
Love,
Cindi

ps Who went through many rounds of typing this because of the broken arm.

Darn, you guys are so special. Truly.

[Heavenly]

There are those

Just have to keep coming and re-reading these inspirational posts. And thanks Mags for keeping Bears memory alive ....

[july232007]

There are those

Mags,

Thanks for this post, well said.

Popeye- the state of mind you describe is what keeps me going too.

I like the idea that it is ok to celebrate what we stand for now in our lives. We each have worked hard by ourselves many times to get here.

Thanks for the ideas in this thread.

July

[chrysa]

There are those

Dear Mags, I should belong but I don't. I am sorry.

[Mags]

There are those

I am only bumping this up because I just reread it and saw that Heavenly reminded us to keep Bear's memory alive. Thank you Heavenly. Every time I write here, I think of my dear friend Bear. I still miss him so much.

For those of you who didn't know him or who forgot, look him up, especially the threads he started. His online name was MD Biker. He was a man of great kindness and wisdom.

Do some Bear reading. You will learn much more from him than you will ever will from me. Thanks for the reminder, Heavenly.