Grateful~

[dominosarah]

I think it is time for a gratitude list.  We have seen some changes here, some good and some very painful.  It is time for all of us to come together and do what we do best and that is to help one another.  Everyone here is valued.  Noone is more important than the other.  Each one of us bring something to the table.  Noone should have to feel that they arent needed or wanted here.  This forum saved my life and i want everyone to experience the blessings i have.  Lets all try to remember where we came from.

So today, i am grateful for all of you.  Each one of you help me stay clean and i thank you from the bottom of my heart~

[onthefence]

I am grateful that i never hurt anyone while i was driving dui! also believe it  or not i am grateful for this last dui, as it being a felony forced me to choose between deer lodge prison, or a 6 month intense boot camp type treatment, and after release drug/dui court for 20 months, as it held me accountable, and if i wasn't in that when my son took his life i think i would of made horrible selfish decisions that could of led to harm for me or someone in my community.
I am not in any way fixed i have had ups and downs, ( thats why it took 20 months) but have learned and grown from my mistakes, and am grateful for the grace of the creator, everything happens as it is meant to , we are what we think about, practice, practice practice.
life isnt fair, its how we deal with it that matters.....

[tooter212]

Right now I'm grateful for all of my MH friends, family. I'm not in a real good place right now so I'm really grateful for the GUILT I feel. At least it's making me aware of the pills I'm taking and why. If I really need them now or not. Praying for the time I can say the right thing to others to help them the way I've been helped.

[atthebeach]

when I came here 5 1/2 years ago my husband had just entered a men's Christian rehab after he had been on a 14 year
relapse. he had used opiates and then went on methadone for 10 years along with abusing Xanax and alcohol.   my family was a mess. I was losing my mind. I was sick emotionally, mentally and physically. we had been separated for a year.

then one year later my daughter started using opiates. this heightened my pain that I was still dealing with from my husband. things went from bad to worse. we were living in a battlefield.

I am so grateful that through my healing, recovery  and restoration I have been able to forget so much of the craziness, insanity and dysfunction that took place for 16 years.

I am so grateful that today my daughter is 3 years clean. my husband is
5 1/2 years clean.

I am so grateful to my LORD for hearing and answering my prayers.
I am so grateful that my husband and daughter reached out and sought the help they so desperately needed.

I am grateful that I kept the faith. I am grateful that I continued to hope and believe that my husband and daughter would get clean.
I am so grateful that my family is healing. I am blessed with four wonderful children.

I am so grateful for MH. It is wonderful to be able to offer to the community the same encouragement, advice, support, love and prayers that was extended to me.
I am grateful for the friends I have made here.

I am grateful I live by the beach. I am grateful for my church.
thank you all so much for being part of my recovery.
I love you all,
Debbie

[quitinoxys]

Yes I know its been awhile, I need to come here more often and I will try...

Love you Guys---Rick

[dominosarah]

What a great surprise to see you here Rick!!  I have missed you.  Send my love to your wife and kiss that little boy for me~  

[quitinoxys]

I am grateful for having my life back and being clean for 5 years now.
I am grateful that I found this forum as it saved my life.
I am grateful for more loving wife and soul mate who stood by me through thick and thin.
I am grateful for my beautiful son my wife gave to me.
I am grateful for all of the wonderful selfless friends I have meet on MH as if it wasn't for you guys I don't know where I would be today.
To all of you that are just starting out on your journey to sobriety keep going you will love your life once again.
I love you all and Keep on Keepin on GOD Bless you all---Rick

[Krissy_123]

I'm grateful for God,my children and husband. My M.H family my AA Family. I'm grateful for everyday that I wake up and don't take that pill. I'm grateful for my life my back, and that I'll be here to watch my babies grow up! because if the pills didn't take me out I think I would have eventually taken myself out thinking there was no other way! All you people out there that think there is no other way,you're wrong. There is,it's not easy but it's definitely worth the fight I promise you that!!

[EvolverU]

Hey Everyone & Thank you Sara for this wonderful post,

For what it's worth, like several posters mentioned above & elsewhere, I've also felt alienated & sometimes intimidated on this forum in the past year or so by some of the unkindness to posters coming in & some of the backhanded comments I've read regarding regular posters, including myself. It made me sad to know that some of the valuable voices I cherished on this place dropped out of sight for similar reasons.What made this place so beautiful for me was the relative tolerance -- it's embodiment of a variety of wisdom & the loving support shared, I think these very differences -- when we are able to support & offer a multi-pronged approach, represent MH @ it's richest & most healing. I know that it's what kept me here & pulled me through.There was something for everyone & often we were most effective with several different styles in concert on one thread (not saying that doesn't happen anymore -- just not the way it used to). I know that this probably goes back & forth but I feel I was blessed to come in @ really vital time on this place.  When it really worked & we were in the zone, it was a thing of beauty & you could feel the poster responding to it all from behind your keyboard. I swear, I could feel the resonance of it @ certain points. It may sound silly but that's how focused & into it I'd get. I could feel the same from reading (with admiration) the posts of others.I know that if I had landed here earlier in my addiction but in later days than I did, that I would have run a mile in defensiveness & hurt if there was no one here to approach me in a gentle, penetrating & patient way. Everyone is different but I've always tried to remember the way I was @ my worst as an addict & to attempt to read what the other person might be feeling when I post (it's all we can do, after all, work from what we know & intuit, right? ). Anyway, 'Nuff said. Feels funny even saying that much....bit too much nostalgia & self-exposure ;)

So, first I'm grateful to finally get that off my chest b/c it's made me kinda' sad for some time.

There are so very, very many things to be grateful for. I guess I'm a late bloomer but I'm getting there. So much has changed for me. Most importantly, I've changed & continue to do so. I'm cool with the kind of  changes that I used to avoid like a scourge. I credit the unerring guidance I've received through Mindfulness (ie. 'the still small voice'). I thank the grace & stillness the Creative Force has allowed me. I thank MH & all the folks here past & present who shared a foxhole with me. I'm thrilled to be alive & consistently present for myself & others!! Sounds fundamental, eh? But for me, at least, it's Massive. I take very little for granted these days & am thankful for it 'cause I used to take almost everything that way or just didn't look @ things too closely. I'm  grateful for the love of my family & friends. I'm grateful I was able to let go of all sorts of unhealthy things from the past & am no longer trapped there spinning my wheels in it's barren shade. I'm stronger for learning it's okay to say 'no' when it's not right for me or it's too taxing or thankless. (It's been a revelation putting this into practice in local life. Still working on it to some extent. Especially @ work [which I'm uber-grateful for, btw :)])

I'm grateful for small kindnesses not only to me but those I see between others. I'm thankful for the Greenery out my window right now & the quiet. For all the fabulously free, invaluable intangibles we're often too busy to notice. I'm also grateful for the way that music still spins me out of myself & flings open all the doors. It's my DOC. I take joy in laughing often @ myself  & even better, I take it in making others laugh! I'm grateful that I was able to cry which I hadn't done in a very long time. It's okay that I battle uncomfortable feelings. They don't end me or define me. In fact, lately, I'm overjoyed to feel a passion for living & learning again I'm still a little hesitant sometimes but I want to just share, share share my experience of life with others or maybe just one person :). I'm glad I'm vulnerable, I'm glad I'm tough & I'm glad that I'm me.

(& that's something I don't think I could ever say consistently say before).

[dedicatedtostop]

Hi All,

Reading this post has actually gotten me a bit chocked up. I haven't posted anything lately but I wanted to say that I am still here!

While I have a multitude of things to be greatful for but for right now, right this minute I am greatful for this post, the love and compassion put behind it! I am greatful that " the old MH I once knew ". Is shining through..

[waterLilly7]

When I was in withdraw the only things I had were my own strength and this forum. I am grateful for both. I don't think I could have done it alone. It's been 3 years now. I have a happy life now. Thanks to this forum and sheer determination.

[motye51]

Today, I am grateful.  There's a myriad of things I am grateful for but most importantly, I'm grateful to be clean today. To be able to experience my life again, good and bad.  Today, I become a grandmother AGAIN, for the 3rd time. This will be my first grandson!  I am grateful that I have the heart and feelings again to actually feel happiness (or sadness).....I am grateful I feel again.  I am grateful for the people i've met on this forum and the people I've met in my N/A groups.....
I am a grateful recovering addict.....today!

[VICourageous]

OK...I have YET another one. GRATEFUL!!!!
I am days away from 3yrs and i can say "NO"...Just say "NO" to all drugs and alcohol..
YOU know how HAPPY that makes me?? It took many, many yrs to get here and I have such a short time in saying "NO".
I do not want you or anybody to Temp me or even Ask me that ever Again!!!!

I live in a small Mountain Community and sometimes you can not help but to run into someone..lol

Bless
VIC

[dominosarah]

This thread just keeps getting better and better!!!

[Jerry198]

Wow !! what a excellent tread it makes you stop and think? " Grateful " I grateful to have sat with my family last night laughing over eating a simple stovetop rice dish when we could have had anything we wanted. Grateful to make it to work this morning with the sunrise over the pacific ocean after seeing a terrible three car pile up. To be free for 130 something days that I don't count anymore Grateful for a great family that stuck by me in dark times. I feel blessed that a few lines in this little blue outlines box helps someone make it through the next hour or day.  the bottom line is I'm grateful just to be me and stand where I do today when many never thought I could and Im grateful to MH I could not have done this without this forum helping others each day helped me stay clean so thank you all !!

[NeverAgain127]

Hi everyone:

I came here 10 months ago, desperate and completely naive about what I was going to be going through.  The folks here supported me and kept me going; I am SO grateful for this site.    I try to log on every morning and check in, even if I don't post anything.

Gratitude is such an important part of staying humble and staying sober for me.  I'm grateful for:  my beautiful daughter, my wonderful and caring husband, my health (even though it isn't great, it's a lot better than a lot of folks), my mind, my house, my insanely cute little black dog ("Stella"), my best friend,  my yard, 9 year old car (it's paid for!!!!), the church bells that ring every Sunday near my home, living in this great country, music, and any kind of pizza!

Thanks for starting this thread Sarah!

Hugs to everyone,
-Robin

[jifmoc]

Sarah- I personally would love to hear your "sailor lingo" I'm the same as you, girl. Anyway, very glad you are here.

[brownvelvet]

This is very nice...some comments here make you want to cry... but in a good way.....I think this forum may just save me from myself..... no one understands an addict except another addict.... well of course not all addicts are the same but it is hard for non addict loved ones to really understand....

I am grateful for the people who reached out... there were a couple of times I almost gave up and I said...." If I have a response on here I will not relapse"....I checked the site and lo and behold someone answered me.... funny but just that little encouragement from someone I don't know who doesn't know me made me strong enough to deny my craving....

I am grateful for so many things in my life... my family, my friends, my work, my many blessings..... and they are why I am quitting because I don't want to lose them and I don't want to numb myself to them anymore....I want to really "feel" life with everything it has to offer... even feeling pain is better than feeling nothing.

Thank you all.

[Frogger76]

Hi everyone! What a great post.  Well, I'm so very thankful for my family. I've got 2 kids, and they are my world. I love, love, love my loud, crazy, redneck to the bone family, without em I'd be so lost.  I'm also thankful to have stumbled across this site, you all are wonderful folks. Take care all...

One more thing I'm thankful for~FOOTBALL!!!  Go Saints!!!

[dominosarah]

I would also like to explain a bit about what Gnarly and i do as Community Leaders.  We are the eyes and ears of this forum.  We are here to help you navigate thru MH or send you in the right direction if we dont know the answers.  We also try to be the "peace keepers" which is why this thread was started.  We are in NO way in control of anything here as we have to answer to the same ones the rest of you do.  We are not paid to do this as i know this has been brought up before also.  We both volunteer our time as addiction is very important to the both of us.  If the forum guidelines arent followed we do get reprimanded, i am speaking only of myself here!!!  I have to work real hard on containing my sailor lingo!!!  lol  Hope this explains a bit about what we do~

[gnarly_1]

Hi  great post Sara.....I write a gratitude list every time I get meloncollie  first off im grateful to be clean  im grateful for the food I eat the home I have  my wife & kids and grand kids the sunny weather her in phoenix among other things   it is so ez to take for grated the very freedom we have living in the USA I always try to list at least 10 and go threw them when im down  after reading them I realize just how much im blessed life is amassing clean........Gnarly

[nonights]

I am grateful this site saved me when I was so down. The good people here had faith in me that I did not even have for myself.  Miss Know It All (me) tapered and did not realize the depression was a withdrawal symptom. When I think of what could have happened to me if not for the caring souls on MH it humbles me. If someone would have been mean to me then it probably would have put me over the edge of the cliff. Just as we are all unique each of us have a unique way to recovery. To think your way is the only way to sobriety is very narrow thinking. I am grateful for everyone on M H. Grateful for my supportive hubby and two kids who have both turned out   to be fine young men. Grateful for the many blessings and yes even the leasons I have learned on this journey called life. I am just plain excited for life on life terms. Thank you m h

[PlowBoy36420]

I'm grateful for my life, my kids and day 35 without taking pills. I'm grateful for finding this site, it has been wonderful knowing ever one that's supported me in this journey.
Thank you all

[mooneyb1]

I am grateful to be in double digits! Day 11 for me and my gratitude list is a long one. I slept restfully last night and woke up feeling a lot better. I'm super grateful for the blessing of finding this group of people who, no matter their pains and struggles, still come here regularly to offer their support, experience, and advice to the ones who come seeking it.  Oh yeah.....and PATIENCE as well mixed with tough love. Other things: my faith and church, my wonderful spouse who's with me all the way, and my 3 ornery black cats.  My profile pic is actually my son's cat.  Mine won't sit still for a pic. I look forward to what the future holds and hope I can be of help to others as you guys set such a loving example. -Bonnie-

[msdelight]

I am so grateful for this post,  and for you Sarah who I always find to be fair and caring. This site and the wonderful souls who reached out a hand to a total stranger, and pulled me out of a deep hole, did it with such love and compassion. Ive become so close to many of you and I no longer suffer the terrible loneliness of my drug being my only friend. Over the years though the rules have changed. We don't love, we preach. We shame, we hurt we go in and the same things are said over and over. Its become a one trick pony. Sarah some of these people don't even read the post or answer the posters questions. I've been suspended more than once trying to defend the person who got hurt, because it really makes me mad that a new person who is sick and struggling is treated like dirt. I made a post recently celebrating someones clean time. A senior member responded like they didn't believe it knowing this person didn't do meetings , and then sarcasticly said to her, well gee tell us how you did it. Others seem to come off like experts, yet it seems they only post to make themselves look good.

But this is a grateful post. I am grateful for MH, my clean time, my friends here and you Sarah.  I have two amazing kids, a job, a car and roof over my head. Hot water, food and all the basics. I am healthy. I've had a very tough life but I am still alive and can laugh about it. I am grateful for love and laughter.  And the way my cat nuzzles me in the morning. I am grateful for this post and hope it will return to the place of compassion that it once was.