Weathering more than the storm
Not every day unfolds as planned. Sometimes the harder work is learning when to bend and when to stay true to yourself.
My firsts were his lasts: sitting with grief.
Losing my beloved dog just before one year sober taught me that sobriety isn’t escaping pain—it’s learning how to sit with it.
Dancing through the Generalife Gardens of Alhambra
Walking through the Generalife gardens, I recognized something familiar in the lines, movement, rhythm, and flow. The garden felt choreographed. And before long, I wasn’t just admiring the performance, I was part of it.
Some things are meant to leave us wondering.
A strange experience leaves me wondering about signs from loved ones, coincidence, sobriety, and whether everything in life needs an answer.
The Holy Grail and other things we judge without knowing.
I nearly looked past the Holy Grail in Valencia because it wasn’t what I expected to see. Years earlier, I had made the same mistake when I walked into my first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
The Backstreet Boys in Las Vegas showed me what is worth recovering.
Recovery has required me to look honestly at my past and decide what I no longer want to carry with me. I think I’ve focused so much on what needed to be left behind that I forgot there were pieces of myself worth going back for.
The work wasn’t about fixing me: what Socrates and sobriety taught me about asking why.
Doing the work didn’t make me immune to difficult feelings. It taught me that I could feel them without letting them consume me.
Understanding the meaning of “one day at a time” on the steps of Positano, Italy.
Recovery is like climbing the stairs in Positano. You can’t see the top. You can’t give up when it gets hard. You just have to keep going. One day at a time. One decision at a time. One step at a time.
Joy can be floating down the river, listening to Celine Dion, and finding a poodle wearing a clown nose in the clouds.
Sometimes life is about finding joy in unlikely places. Like seeing a poodle wearing a clown nose hovering over the Current River while I’m Alive plays.
You can go to a winery in Sicily, Italy and enjoy yourself… and the bread.
It’s hard to imagine finding pleasure in going to a winery in Sicily, Italy when you’re sober. But there’s plenty to enjoy… especially the bread.
I found peace listening to a street violinist in front of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona.
I returned to Barcelona in 2026 to once again admire the beauty of the Sagrada Familia. I didn’t expect to leave having seen something else entirely: a person who spent years avoiding feelings, actually feel. Me.
I found my Higher Power at an ancient bathhouse in Vallromanes, Spain.
In Alcoholics Anonymous, we talk a lot about God and our Higher Power. Something greater than ourselves. It’s something I’ve personally struggled with during my three years in the program.