still grateful after all these years

today marks my 8th consecutive birthday as a free man after having been a slave to my addiction my entire adult life (and much of my childhood, although i didn't know it then), and, if i had to sum up how i feel about that in a one word or less, that word would be...

grateful.

as my friend tom reilly used to say, "any day you wake up sucking air is a good day," and i've woken up sucking air — and only air — for the last 2,674 days. don't get me wrong; some of those days were a whole lot better than others:

since i quit smoking in november of 2001, i've gone through a divorce, lost my job, and watched my mom die of complications from congestive heart failure. but win, lose or draw, i've lived every day of the last 2,674 as a free man.

and for that, i'm grateful.

i've also been given the opportunity to help a lot of other people get free from their addictions in that time, and i'm grateful for that, too.

and whether i'm given another 2,674 days or 26,740, as long as i have the opportunity to pay it forward, and help more people get free and stay free, i'll be grateful.

(and if i can figure out how to make a few million bucks in the process, i'll be grateful for that, too... 😉 )

thanks for being a part of the journey.