Silly Joke Friday

Silly Joke #1

After ordering a milkshake, a man had to leave his seat in the restaurant to use the rest room. Since he didn’t want anyone to take his shake, he took a paper napkin, wrote on it, “The world’s strongest weight lifter,” and left it under his glass. When he returned from making his call, the glass was empty. Under it was a new napkin with a note that said “Thanks for the treat!” It was signed, “The world’s fastest runner.”

Silly Joke #2

A priest was sent to a very small church in the backwoods of Alaska. After a couple of years the Bishop decided to pay the priest a visit to see how he was doing. The priest said that it was a really lonely job and that he didn’t think that he could have made it without his rosary and two martinis each day. With that the priest said to the Bishop, “Would you like to have a martini with me?” The Bishop said, “Yes, that would be nice.” The priest turned around and hollered toward the kitchen, “Rosary, would you fix us two martinis please?”

Silly Joke #3

A blonde walks into the library. She walks up to the counter, slams a book down and screams at the librarian, “This is the worst book I’ve ever read! It has no plot and far too many characters!” The librarian looks up and calmly remarks, “So, you’re the one who took our phone book…”

Bonus Silly Joke

Two factory workers, a guy and a blonde were talking. “I know how to get some time off from work.” said the man. “How do you think you will do that?” said the blonde. He proceeded to show her…by climbing up to the rafters, and hanging upside down. The boss walked in, saw the worker hanging from the ceiling, and asked him what on earth he was doing? “I’m a light bulb!” answered the guy. “I really think you might need some time off. Why don’t you go home and take a few days for your mental health…” said the boss. So, the man immediately jumped down and walked out of the factory. The blonde suddenly began walking out too. The boss asked her where did she think she was going? “Home. I can’t work in the dark!”

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

Question For The Day

Today’s question is…

What is your favorite place to get take-out food if you aren’t going to cook at home?

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson


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Having A Game Plan For Recovery From Addiction Instead Of Just Winging It…

When I volunteer at the detoxes that I do here in Toledo, I’m always amazed at how hardly any of the clients there ever seem to have any type of game plan on how they’re going to handle their addiction once they get discharged and instead often just wing it.

Many addicts and alcoholics tend to look for a miracle cure to their issues, hoping some medication will quickly fix all their problems. I lost count of the number of times I’ve heard people introduce themselves to me at the detoxes I attend who state they are only there for medication and that they either don’t have any alcohol or drug problems, or that they do, but it’s well under control. Yet, after getting them to open up a little more, I generally discover how much their alcohol and drug use has been a major catalyst to why they need medication in the first place. Why they never seem to understand that alcohol and drugs affects one’s brain chemistry, often causing the very reasons why they are there, including anxiety, depression, and plenty of other mental health disorders, is beyond me? Regardless, even if medication gets prescribed to them there, that alone is never the sole solution or a good game plan.

So, what is a good game plan for someone coming into the world of sobriety from alcohol or drugs, especially if they’re emerging from a detox? Depending on one’s life situation, there are truly two paths that one can take for help.

For those who are homeless or have no real responsibilities in life, I tend to recommend that their best course of action is one where they go into an in-patient alcohol and drug treatment program. Here, in Toledo, there are many of them now. One of my favorites is Midwest. At places like Midwest, structure gets created for the person new to the world of sobriety, or someone coming back to it after a relapse. Having structure is so critical to the alcoholic and addict, as those without structure, frequently just relapse back into their disease, especially if they’re homeless or have no responsibilities in life. At in-patient treatment programs like Midwest, a client gets exposed to communal living, the 12 Steps, meetings, and learns how to function again in the world starting with a controlled environment without alcohol or drugs. And after completing a program of 30 days at places like this, they can move into halfway houses or other sober living type situations, where the structure becomes less for the individual, yet enough still remains to help guide them sober in the real world.

The other path is for those who have a full set of life requirements already, such as those with an important job, a family, someone they’re taking care of, etc., where they can’t necessarily go into some in-patient treatment program without having serious repercussions because of it. For them, the recommendation is usually to find a therapist to talk to, a home 12 Step group to attend, a sponsor to do the 12 Steps with, and going to other 12 Step recovery meetings daily. Having structure like this is crucial for the person who returns to living in the real world immediately upon getting sober. Without this type of structure, an individual like this often tries to build their recovery into their life, rather than the other way around, where most often doing so leads them straight back into their addiction.

I’ve worked with individuals throughout my recovery life who have followed each of these paths and have seen great success for those who stuck to it. But coming out of detox and having no game plan, trying to just wing it in life, rarely ends well for any alcoholic or addict. Even, I, myself, continue to have a game plan all these years deep into my life of recovery from addiction. I’m glad I do, because the last time I tried to live life without one, well that didn’t end so well, as I landed in a mental ward and had a suicide attempt during that period of my life.

The bottom line for any alcoholic or addict is that once the alcohol and drugs are out of their system, whether that occurs in a detox or at home, there NEEDS to be some sort of a game plan in life for their recovery from addiction. One that keeps them connected to other sober individuals, one that helps them learn how to function in a world without using alcohol or drugs for survival, and one where ultimately, they find a Higher Power who will keep them clean and sober through anything. Without this, trying to just wing their recovery and hoping that things like a medication will fix it all, usually results in nothing more than constantly living in a vicious cycle of addiction and temporary stints of sobriety…

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson