Guilty But Not For Life

I must congratulate someone who has been so inspirational in my recovery. In fact I first spoke with this person when I had less than thirty days of Recovery and in the Gamblers Anonymous Program. I spoke with this person for over an hour and he gave me so much hope and inspiration His name is Gary Dibartolomeo and I have written about him in the past. Today he was granted a temporary Key License to work as a Casino Executive in Atlantic City. This is a far cry from only five years ago when his life was in tatters due to his compulsive gambling addiction. Here are two stories detailing a little of what Mr D. has gone through but what they don't explain is how he has helped so many other people like myself deal with their gambling addiction.

Here was a gentleman at the top of his game and he had his "ticket punched" but he had a dark little secret which he couldn't hide forever. (Sound familiar?) His dark little secret was his compulsive gambling addiction, he did anything and everything to stay in action which included lying to the Regulators in Atlantic City which caused him to lose his very high paying position. However; this great man committed to his recovery and the Gamblers Anonymous Program. He made it through a very tumultuous five years keeping his family together and now he has his career back all thanks to a very simple Program

Having had the honor and privilege of speaking with this gentleman a few times over the past year all I can say is CONGRATULATIONS!!! Gary D. is the embodiment of how the Program works if you work the Program. He has certainly worked the Program and given back so much which has accelerated his Recovery. I can only learn from this person and know there are great things ahead if I stay in Recovery and stay with the Program. I fully intend to continue doing these things because I have seen how the Program has transformed me in a little over one year. I am very excited to see this transformation evolve each and every day.

The daily reflection book from Gamblers Anonymous is called "A Day at a Time". This week the theme has been guilt and yesterday the last line of the reading was very telling for me; "The verdict of guilty is not for life." This sentence resonates with me because yes, in a legal sense I have a verdict of guilty and in a morale sense I have a sense of guilt. This guilty verdict is not laden on me for life as long as I continue doing the right things which is working my recovery Program to the best of my ability. The sense of guilt I experience on a daily basis is much less now thanks to the GA Program than it was in the very beginning.

Mr. Gary D. had so many trials and tribulations in the time he was exiled from his career and although he didn't have to spend anytime in prison due to his actions our consequences are very similar. He was expelled from the career which he excelled at and it took working his recovery Program to the best of his ability to get his life back in order. I know if I follow this simple plan of recovery my life will continue to get back in order once my legal issues are resolved.

The GA Program has brought so many wonderful and fascinating people in my life and I am so very grateful to have met each one of these people. Each one like Mr. D. has given me so much strength and hope while they have shared their experiences with me. I don't know what would have happened if I didn't enter that room some fifteen months and also after entering that room I reached out to people who have arrested their gambling compulsion. I wanted to know how to arrest this horrible addiction and I have found the best road to recovery for me is to work all of the principles in the GA Program each and everyday. This has worked for so many people before me and it will continue to work for people after me which is why it has worked so well for the past 465 days and I look forward to it working one day at a time for a lifetime.

Mr. Dibartolomeo was judged as very guilty a few years ago but he has turned his life around with the GA Program. I am not saying I will go back to work for a casino which I know is not a possibility but I do know I will go back to work somewhere and continue to grow in my new life of recovery. I have seen in the short time I have been associated with the GA Program what it has done for my life in fact I have mentioned I received a job offer a few months ago to work for a recovery center in Las Vegas. The reason I received this job offer was due to the GA Program. Without really embracing my recovery I would not have received this offer nor would I have the so many wonderful people in my life. I am forever grateful for this wonderful Program.