GRAVY
by: Raymond Carver (1938-1988)
“No other word will do. For that’s what it was. Gravy.
Gravy, these past ten years.
Alive, sober, working, loving, and
being loved by a good woman. Eleven years
ago he was told he had six months to live
at the rate he was going. And he was going
nowhere but down. So he changed his ways
somehow. He quit drinking! And the rest?
After that it was all gravy, every minute
of it, up to and including when he was told about,
well, some things that were breaking down and
building up inside his head. “Don’t weep for me,”
he said to his friends. “I’m a lucky man.
I’ve had ten years longer than I or anyone
expected. Pure Gravy. And don’t forget it.”
We’ve been thinking a lot about you at Tres Vistas Recovery during the recent holiday; about receiving the gift of sobriety and of gratitude-which is like the gravy on top!
Thanksgiving is over and by the grace of God we’ve all had the perfect reminder about the gifts of sobriety. Thanksgiving was the opportunity for ‘giving thanks’ for the bountiful, abundant lives we are so fortunate to have. Living life one day at a time affords us the blessed opportunity to be of service, make amends, and enjoy a very rich and meaningful existence. Really, achieving and maintaining sobriety is the number one benefit of a recovery program. It is a gift. The biggest gift of all. For this we are grateful. However, in honor of Thanksgiving, we were reminded of a perfectly apt expression about all the many wonderful additional things that come with sobriety. The rest, as they say, is all gravy!
Attitude Of Gratitude With Tres Vistas
Speaking of gratitude, we are beyond grateful for all of our professionals. As educators you are the pillars of this community (you could say you’re the Turkey to our Thanksgiving Dinner). That’s because YOU are the ones who bring the message of Tres Vistas Recovery to life.
In the coming year, we want to show you how grateful we are for you by giving you more of the tools you’ve asked us for. During the last few months we spent time revamping our curriculum, creating more vibrant activities that will strengthen a solid foundation in recovery. With your help we are extending guidance to programs and services which are created to attend to the physical psychological and spiritual maintenance of each individual. All of these new tools are now available on our beautiful new website, which is user friendly, allowing easy access for our valued educators, professionals, patients and families.
Find The Gratitude: Follow The Light
There is a tendency for all of us. Especially in recovery, to fall back into darkness or a dark way of viewing and perceiving things. However it is pretty much impossible to be a Doomsday Dan, or Negative Nelly if you are following the light. Grabbing a pen a paper and writing a simple gratitude list is an excellent way to put your focus back in the light, which is back in faith.
Continuing with the theme of Thanksgiving traditions and its origins, did you know that the sunflower is actually a gift from the Native Americans?. The sunflower is a perfect symbol for faith because the sunflower blossom (which is bright AND bountiful) is always seeking out and following the light. For people in recovery this is symbolic, representing spirituality akin to the heart and soul of humankind always seeking and attaining unity with the light of faith.
Because they grew abundantly on the Great Plains, sunflowers were first purposely cultivated by Native Americans as a source of medicine, fiber, seeds, and oil. In this way, the analogy of always being like a sunflower and following the light is like keeping a connection with the Source/God/ Higher Power of one’s own understanding.
In closing we would like to say ‘THANK YOU’ with heartfelt gratitude to all of you, for bringing us into your heart and making it possible for Tres Vistas Recovery to change lives.
