In Alcoholics Anonymous, a Sponsor is a Mentor who helps foster your growth and accountability in Recovery. My Sponsor lived a long and productive life with over 60 years of continuous sobriety before he died of Alzheimer's well into his 80's. He died clean and sober and thanks to him, that is my best intention. His lived experience guided many others over the course of his illustrious life. This one man did for me what a battery of doctors, therapists and psychiatrists were unable to do in the eight years prior to the development of our friendship and kinship in Recovery.
One day (honestly, many days), when I was completely perplexed and I didn't know what to do next, he offered me a small bit of advice that changed and likely saved my life. To paraphrase, he suggested that when I didn't know quite what to do next, I should simply seek to help someone else. It's a Win/Win situation, he explained. Helping someone else in need would help me keep my boat upright in these waters of Recovery. Years later, his best advice has proven to be true in my life.
Kudos and Gratitude to him for helping me find a sustainable way forward.
In a larger sense, each generation passes on the mantle of responsibility to their successors. And so, life goes on.
Even now, I hear a whisper to pass this on.
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in my Autobiographical Fiction, ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
(Find it on Amazon. Book it here): http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
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