hey tribe family and friends, it was pointed out to me today by a fellow trine member that i seemed to have mellowed out in the last few months. hopefully that is a god thing. i have learned that i need to work the 12 step program that works for me and if by chance along the way i can make a suggestion that helps somebody stay clean then my job is done. in 2 weeks i will celebrate 20 years in Narcotics Anonymous. most of it by the grace of God and the people in the rooms of NA. it does not hurt to have a sponsor who has been around the block once or twice. i can still be the asshole some of you came to love and hate but what's the point. i am here for me today. i live by the 12 steps and by the 12 principles of NA. i work the steps when needed and work with my 5 sponsees as much as possible. i have never said i have all the answers and sometimes i don't  even know the question. what i do know is that if you follow the guidelines in the Basic Text of NA you never have to use again.

friday my wife and i are flying to aAlaska for 2 and a half weeks. i feel that for this particular birthday i need to go back to where my addiction started in the summer of 1967 and ended in the summer of 1989. God has blessed me with so many friends in NA around the world that our lifelines are endless. i hope some of you who are just begining your recovery journey are trying your best to not give into temptation and have gotten a sponsor and are continueing to move forward in your recovery provess. getting clean is easy staying clean in our world as we know it today is a bitch. but when you make Recovery the most important thing in your life today you too can get some substantial time under your belt and find the peace and serenity some of us who have been around for a while have found. everything comes in time. if you can go to NA lengths to stay clean then you'll make it. if you go half the distance to stay clean as you did to use you can make it. i would suggest that you give this program one year and if you find that you still want to use then we can refund your misery one hundred percent.

for me today being miserable is not an option, using today is not an option, being unhappy today is not an option. being a productive member of society and contributing what i can to help carry the message is what my God tells me to do. i wish you all well. just remember that recovery is a journey not a destination and use the rest stops God provides along the way.

In Recovery for for life,

JJ