That's awesome Tara. :) I was asked to speak at my 1 year and was very nervous because the room was packed. Probably a little over a hundred people. No idea what I said, but saw a few crying. One thing I remember saying was that early on, in sobriety, what stuck out the most to me was the statement "we will comprehend serenity & know peace" and I remember saying that's what I wanted more than anything in life and ended my "speech" if that's what you can call it cause it was so short with " thanks to you people and to God, today....I comprehend the word serenity and I know peace".

Those promises really do come true don't they? You're a testament to that very fact. So proud of you sunshine! Big kiss & super huge hug. :)

YAY good for you:) Congrats.

:=)))

G'Dat T

O what a feeling.

God bless...

Lionel

It's nice when others notice a difference. Encouraging too. Keep persevering Tara, you're doing great. Beautiful share :}

I agree with CooeeMum - great share. You sound very genuine about being happy just to be sober.

Isn't ego a bitch? It feels so good at first and leads us to so much inanity.

So glad you got to 90 days - enjoy every minute from here on out - AA really is the softer, easier way, imo. Take care.

Thanks all. I was really trying to say that I thought I knew so much and maybe I did "know" it but it hadn't made it from my head to my heart. HUMILITY is possibly the most critical piece of my recovery at the moment.

Ugh. Two people in the past week told me they did not think I was going to make it. They really thought I was going to be one of the ones who died. I seriously nearly burst into tears because it is SO real to me. I know that I could die. Every time my ego kicks in, I feel like I am at risk to fall. Always have to stay in check.

It truly is great to see someone getting the program and it gives hope to others.

It reminds me of the 'swing door of AA' which many of us pass in and out of and it is great to see when people stay :)

Peace is awesome isn't it? How long we did not live that way:)

Yee-hah

Always stay in check-be on top of this! That ego will get you, it will get me, it will get us all of we don't keep our perspectives.

Great going, stay humble and honest, always.

Your post and KK's response made me pause. Wait a sec, the ego isn't so bad -- it is part of who we are and we can't just dismiss it. Hmmmm. Not quite sure of what to make of your comments, so I did a little googling and found this by Eckhart Tolle:

"The extent of the ego's inability to recognize itself and see what it is doing is staggering and unbelievable. [...] To become free of the ego is not really a big job but a very small one. All you need to do is be aware of your thoughts and emotions as they happen. This is not really a 'doing' but an alert 'seeing'. In that sense, it is true that there is nothing you can do to become free of the ego. When that shift happens, which is the shift from thinking to awareness, an intelligence far greater than the ego's cleverness begins to operate in your life. Emotions and even thoughts become depersonalized through awareness. Their impersonal nature is recognized. There is no longer a self in them. They are just human emotions, human thoughts. Your entire personal history, which is ultimately no more than a story, a bundle of thoughts and emotions, becomes of secondary importance and no longer occupies the forefront of your consciousness. It no longer forms the basis for your sense of identity. You are the light of Presence, the awareness that is prior to and deeper than any thoughts and emotions."

With this in mind, your comments about not letting the ego kick in and take over, make a whole lot of sense.

As far as ego is concerned its my exp we all have it were human but it seems people with are disease takes it to extreme until we work on it head on. Just like other character defects.

As a good friend puts it, some of my major defects kept me alive till I hit my personal bottom.

Best I can explain from my understanding ExJ...

When my ego "takes over", I get ahead of and above myself. My reality is distorted by LACK of awareness. I make jokes of things that aren't funny. I react to situations in ways that are not in line with how I should or need to react. I respond to people with no thought of their perspective, and with little or no empathy. My intentions aren't appropriate and my motives are usually selfish. I am not truly IN the moment when my ego takes over.

When I am acting with humility in mind, I am in sync with my true being and present in situations with a clearer perspective. I feel real and I feel honest and true. I act with integrity in my feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. No sugar coating and no puffing up my feathers.

Ego just is what it is and we will always have it. Overactive ego or ego taking over I believe is when the ego is striving to protect itself in some way - my ego trying to protect my "identity" in the eyes of others. I may be boastful or attention seeking or acting as though my ideas are better or more important than other peoples'. What I say is intellectual maybe to impress rather than speaking from my heart.

Don't know if that makes any sense. I just know when I am out of balance I guess.

I think I am in the habit of maintaining a facade and didn't even realize it until recently. I am much more comfortable when I am just being my true self.

for 4 years ii witnessed someone in a wheel striving for a college degree......she graduated with honors.......i am humbled.

the story of how her life put her in the fight is humbling in it's self.

in perspective our struggle is so trite.