Luxury problems 3/12

There are many reasons why I go to recovery meetings. But the one that stood out last night was regarding perspective.

When I sit in a meeting and all of the days worries fall off of me…I listen.

I listen to others share their pain, their joy and their indifference. I listen to people who are seeking to feel better and/or to comfort another with their experiences.

Last night an addict named Joe shared how he was once homeless – shoeless and walking the streets spending every dime he could get his hands on his addiction.

He didn’t have shoes…and he would beg, borrow and steal to get his drugs.

Joe has been clean for some time now. His said his life is exactly what he dreamed of as a child. He has a beautiful wife, a home and three healthy children. He told us that as a kid all he wanted was to be a dad. And today he is one…a clean one.

He also shared how he was in the grocery store the other day and he had a fit that toothpaste was $4.00 dollars!!

This made us all laugh…he had come from not even having shoes and spending insane amounts of money on drugs…to being upset over the cost of toothpaste.

He chuckled and said “Luxury problems!”