GIVING THANKS
In light of Thanksgiving, we asked these clean and sober individuals with various lengths of sobriety, how they practice gratitude in their program of recovery
THE TOOLS
“There is a lot going on in my life. I’m grateful for having a roof over my head and I’m grateful to the Van Ness House because they gave me several opportunities and allowed me to stay even though I was a total mess. I’m grateful for the tools. I stayed sober because of all tools I learned, the Van Ness House gave me all that. I used to be very ungrateful. I blamed everything on my husband. It was never enough, and I wanted more. Now I write a gratitude list. It forces me to see the good in what is right in front of me. I don’t know what Thanksgiving will look like for me, my family is 3,000 miles away, but I’m going to be grateful no matter what happens.”
—Lenny R, sober since February 6, 2021.
MY FAMILY
“Gratitude has a profound impact on my recovery. It allows me to shift my perspective to see everything around me that’s happening for me and not to me. Part of my practice is a gratitude list that I do with my support group. It gives me an opportunity to appreciate all the little things in my life. When I’m able to do that, it’s really hard to have a bad day. It was hard to be grateful in my addiction because life was so unmanageable. There were a lot of consequences to my using. Life was a mess. Today life is so much simpler. I will be going to my parent’s house for Thanksgiving. My family is very good about tradition. Now I get the opportunity to rebuild the relationship with my family. We don’t agree on everything, but today, I find the similarities in which we can connect, as opposed to finding the differences. It makes for a peaceful, enjoyable experience with the family.”
—Jason Cupp, sober since January 15, 2019.
TO SHOW UP
“I do gratitude lists in the morning. What comes to mind is how simple and valuable my life is. When I forget to be grateful, I come out sideways and I start complaining about quality problems like somebody did my Starbucks drink wrong when there was a time I couldn’t afford Starbucks. When I’m not in gratitude, I forget how good my life is, like waking up sober, making my own money, and being able to show up for my friends. Being trusted to watch the Van Ness Recovery House is a gift and being able to show up for commitments. Gratitude wasn’t even in my vocabulary in my addiction. Now I’m grateful I get to be honest and not have shame and I get to show up. Going back to school and being a student amongst students is a gift. It’s something I never allowed myself to do. Dreams and goals feel real for me. Law school seems real. My life isn’t perfect, but I’m doing what I want to do sober. It’s also nice to show up to Thanksgiving after being invited. Time with my family is filled with love, and gratitude and happiness.”
—Loe Vasquez, sober since April 15, 2020.
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