Little did I know to be grateful for the smaller things in life.
For instance, it is as simple as appreciating a cup of coffee. Some may say…a cup of coffee? And my response would be, yes.
Not everyone has to lose everything to get sober. The hope is that you do not. However, quite a few of us do lose everything. Which then, makes the smaller things in life much more important to us…like a cup of coffee. You see, in my active addiction I didn’t even have enough money to get high, never mind enough for a coffee.
I remember the first time I bought a cup of coffee when I got sober. I was literally in awe how good it felt. I had to pause for a second and be like, “this is what they talk about.” When you sit there and think about the times that you go to detox, end up homeless, steal to support your habit, steal because you are hungry, then, walk into a coffee shop free from addiction and buy a coffee with money that is actually yours…WOW I mean wow. How does that not hit you in some phenomenal way?
These smaller things are what prepared me for the much larger gifts in sobriety that I would receive the longer I stayed sober. If you have read my previous blogs, you would know before my active addiction I grew up in what some would say a pretty decent home. Because I attended a very good high school and college, I actually experienced a decent life that would be eventually ripped away due to addiction.
This would help change my thought process once I got sober. I was no longer able to believe the delusional lie that I was just entitled a certain life, just because of who I was. Sobriety taught me that I am not that important.
When I started to have the mentality of appreciating the smaller things in life, I also changed my perception in many other situations. I cared way more about helping people in general. I realized that not everyone gets to live the gift of sobriety. Some continue to be homeless and or suffer from mental health issues that cause their life to be unmanageable. When you can appreciate something as simple as being able to afford a coffee typically your perspective on life changes as well. I am beyond grateful for that.
The longer I stayed sober, bigger and better things started to enter my life. I believe my attitude to be grateful to even split a pack of cigarettes with someone in early recovery helped me be prepared for what was yet to come for me. When they say more will be revealed, they weren’t lying.
What do I mean by that? Going from splitting two slices of pizza with another halfway house resident to being married, having a daughter, owning a home, and having leadership role at my company is a pretty big deal to someone that started at zero in a state funded program. Because I know where it all started, I don’t ever underestimate the smaller things in life. Up until this day, I still go outside on my deck and take a sip of coffee almost every morning and pinch myself saying “wow is my life really this good.” Remember it all started with that coffee!
