Month: July 2021

Thought For The Day

Quote #1

“Alcoholics and all types of addicts may seem apathetic to the problems they are causing. Be aware that they are relying on an innate defense mechanism, that being denial.” (Anonymous)

Quote #2 

Addicts of all types and close relationships rarely work out well because addicts tend to live in a constant state of resentment and blame, leaning towards lives filled with selfishness and self-centeredness, where their ability to be intimate is greatly compromised, where feelings such as jealously and resentment are typically magnified, where financial problems pile up more than not, and where their fingers point outward more than inward at what’s wrong in their lives.” (Anonymous)

Quote #3

“It’s not that some people have better willpower than others to overcome an addiction, it’s simply that some people have finally become FULLY ready to change, where others have not.” (Anonymous)

Bonus Quote

“Recovery from any addiction is far more than just stopping drinking or using whatever substance one is addicted to. It’s an ongoing process of growing and healing – mentally, emotionally, physically, and especially spiritually.” (Anonymous)

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

“I’m Freakin’ Hungover And I’m Calling Off Work Because Of It!!!”

Just the other day, I overheard someone noticeably upset as they yelled into their phone about how hungover they were and how they were going to take the day off of work because of it. Man, I truly don’t miss those days whatsoever!

One of the things that Bill Wilson (co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous and the 12 Steps) once said was how none of his best days drinking were better than any of his worst days sober. Listening to this person in their extreme hungover state was a great reminder of why that still remains true for me when it comes to this disease even after being over 26 years clean and sober from it.

How many times did I used to wake up in the morning over the course of my alcoholic and drug addicted days to excess did I feel awful, cranky, angry, smelly, with headaches, and filled with shame about what I had done the night before are far too many to recollect. I rarely felt good about myself on most mornings back then, most of which came during my college years and just beyond after graduation.

I most certainly remember those days when I skipped my classes because of hangovers, as much as I remember going to my classes and learning nothing as I gripped my throbbing head hoping to stifle the pain somehow, all while drinking copious amount of water to make it go away. And I most certainly remember my first job out after graduation taking days off due to hungover states, telling myself it was ok, when it wasn’t. Because ultimately, both in college and in my life after, there were people who were relying upon me and responsibilities I had that I selfishly never thought about each time I drank or drugged to such excesses, where I had to remove myself from all my obligations the next day because of it.

A sad fact is that alcoholics and drug addicts are selfish to the very core and tend to think nothing of actions such as calling off of work, never once caring about who’s affected by decisions like that, such as their boss who’s already struggling with a limited staff, who has their own challenges in life, and ends up having to force those who do show up to work, to take double duty, causing them far greater strife in the process. In my case, it was the software team I was on, who had to work overtime to cover my slack, not even getting paid for it due to being salaried.

The goal of 12 Step recovery for me has always been and continues to be one that moves away from behaviors like this. Rather, I work hard at being more of a selfless person, one who thinks about each of my actions and the ramifications they might have upon the masses, something I never did during my days of drinking and drugging to excess, where harsh hangovers in the mornings led me to doing the exact opposite.

Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and all 12 Step programs of recovery not only can prevent a person from ever having to be in a hangover state again, where bad decisions like calling off work tend to happen, but also will help an individual learn how to be far more selfless in a world where they once were far more selfish and consumed with self more than not…

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

Silly Joke Friday

Silly Joke #1

A group of American tourists were being guided through an ancient castle in Europe. “This place,” the guide told them, “is 600 years old. The owners have never had a single stone in it touched, nothing altered, nothing replaced in all those years…” “Wow,” said one of the American tourists dryly, “they must have the same landlord I have!”

Silly Joke #2

A Canadian customer not too proficient with computers was calling the Microsoft Office help desk to find out if there was a faster way to trigger menu commands than mousing up to the menus.
Agent: “Certainly, sir. There are keyboard shortcuts for many of those commands. For example, suppose you want to trigger the Select All command.”
Caller: “Yes, I use that one all the time! How do I do it?”
Agent: “Well, you just press Control-A.”
Caller (after a pause): “Well, that’s not working for me.”
Agent: “Do you have a text document open in front of you?”
Caller: “Yes, I sure do.”
Agent: “OK, now press Control-A.”
Caller: “I am, but nothing happens.”
Agent: “The text isn’t highlighted?”
Caller: “No, there’s no change at all.”
Agent: “That’s odd. If you press Control-A the whole document should be highlighted. Try it again. Press Control-A. Tell me exactly what’s happening.”
Caller (nearing his Canadian breaking point): “Listen. I’m pressing Control, eh? And nothing’s happening, eh?”

Silly Joke #3

Every newspaper in New York sent a reporter and a staff photographer to the office of a local ophthalmologist when it was learned that he recently performed a successful sight-saving operation on the wife of the country’s most celebrated mural artist, who, in addition to paying the doctor’s usual fee, had gratefully insisted on painting one of his contemporary masterpieces across an entire wall of the doctor’s waiting room. The mural turned out to be an immense multicolored picture of a human eye, in the center of which stood a perfect miniature likeness of the good doctor himself. While cameras clicked and most of the newsmen crowded around the famous artist for his comments, one cub reporter drew the eye specialist aside and asked: “Tell me, if you can, Doctor-what was your first reaction on seeing this fantastic artistic achievement covering an entire wall of your office?” “Honest to God, to tell the truth…” the physician replied, “my first thought was, thank goodness I’m not a proctologist!”

Bonus Silly Joke

The marriage between the aging farmer and his young wife was not working out too well, especially in the bedroom, so they consulted a specialist for advice. “The next time you’re down in the field plowing and feel a yearning for your wife don’t wait until lunch time or the end of the day, but quit what you’re doing and go to the house,” said the doctor. “I already tried that,” said the farmer, “But by the time I get to the house, I am so tuckered out, it’s no use.” The doctor thought for a minute, “Ok, well, take your shotgun with you then when you leave the house in the morning and if you’re feeling that urge if you know what I mean, shoot the gun and she will come down there where you are.” A few weeks later the aging farmer sees the specialist while in town getting supplies. “How did it work out?” asked the doctor. “It was great the first three days,” said the farmer, “But then hunting season opened and I haven’t seen her since!”

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