"Recovery" Principles

Last night while I was preparing dinner for myself and the children (my wife was very busy getting the house in order for our guest whom is arriving tomorrow) my cell phone rang. I didn’t recognize the incoming number but I have been receiving many of these “unknown” telephone calls since I started my new position. I answered the phone and on the other end was a member of Gamblers Anonymous who I had never met. Apparently this member was doing as the program states; “use the telephone list”. The strange thing was this person was not from our group of GA so my name wouldn’t have been on that particular telephone which meant someone had given him my telephone number. None of this is neither here nor there because regardless of where a person calls from I will speak with anyone who is trying to get help for their gambling addiction. In fact; here is my toll free number and if there is anyone who needs help with their gambling addiction please call 866-942-7943.

I answered the cell phone and proceeded to have a great conversation with this member who is new to the program. I will continue to say this and it bears repeating; compulsive gambling is a horrible addiction and takes so many people to places they never would have been and I am a walking endorsement of this point. This member was struggling with all the damage they had done not only to themselves but to those near and dear. I can definitely emphasize and sympathize. I listened and offered what I have learned over the past 3 ½ years of being associated with the GA Program.

The remorse, regret, sorrow and all those negative feelings were showing and I assured this member that this is okay because it proves they are human. If we didn’t have these feelings we would either be a robot or some type of socio-path and I doubted that this person was either. Those feelings are natural but the key is to overcome those feelings by truly working the GA Program of Recovery. I believe people can enter the GA Program and stay away from gambling by applying the abstinence principle in their daily affairs but those people who apply the “Recovery” principles are the people who really exceed and excel not only in the program but in life. It is a program of recovery which leads to a bright beautiful way of living. Sure compulsive gambling can be overcome with abstinence only but there are so many benefits to the program applying those recovery principles.

This new member seemed to grasp the concepts I was talking about and hopefully some of this sticks. This member was also formerly associated with another 12 step program and I am a firm believer of if a person is truly embracing the principles of their 12 step recovery program they will not harm themselves which means they will not create another harmful addiction. Yes, this may seem easy for me to say because I am “only” battling compulsive gambling but I see so many benefits in the recovery program I can’t see how a person would harm themselves if they are truly working the program.

The conversation lasted awhile and I was in jeopardy of either being late for the GA meeting or missing the meeting entirely. Thankfully we wrapped up the conversation with enough time for me to arrive only a few minutes late to the meeting. I had committed myself to going to the meeting tonight since I missed on Sunday so I was very glad to enter the room. Also by attending a different meeting I got to see some members I hadn’t seen in awhile.

The GA meeting was well attended and it was the biggest meeting I have seen in a long time. It is so good to see many people getting help for their addiction and that was the reason I was in the room. This is my nutrition from going down that wrong road and not only do I follow the guidelines in the GA Program I do my best to apply them to my daily affairs. I had a full dose of recovery starting with the very good telephone call into the very good meeting. This is the life blood of my recovery and I am eternally grateful.

This morning I promised my wife I would set aside some time during the day to help organize the house for our surprise houseguest. As I have written prior I am somewhat reluctant to take the initiative in the organizing of the house because my wife usually likes things a certain way. This morning I asked what I needed to do and followed those directions. I know how to handle a vacuum along with working a mop. I must say this mop was much more user friendly than the mop at fire camp because it was battery operated and dispensed the cleaning agent directly from the mop. I had to have some training on the high tech mop but after a few passes I got the hang of it.

The day went by very well and my wife was getting the house in order. Normally on Wednesdays I have a meeting to attend but today with my wife in full house preparation mode I called my boss and asked if my presence was needed. Thankfully my presence wasn’t needed which meant I got to help my son with his homework and take him to his baseball game while my wife finished what she was working on. These are truly magnificent days because I was there both in body and mind for my family and I got to experience my family; mostly my son.

I drove my son to his baseball game and his team continues to roll along. After another slow start my son’s team started hitting and so did my son. My son had 2 hits in 4 at bats knocking in 2 runs as well. The league has a six pitch rule; meaning the player can be given six pitches and if they don’t put the ball in play by the six pitch they are automatically out. My son went to the sixth pitch on three of his four at bats. He struck out two of those times but on the other occasion he lined a single to center field which would have been a double but the player in front of him stopped at second.

My son is getting very comfortable behind the plate and he is developing into a very good catcher. It is very clear my son is having a great deal of fun and he told me that he likes playing baseball out here in California as opposed to New Jersey because in New Jersey there was a lot of yelling. There is no yelling here and it is a lot of fun. This is what life is all about!!!!