The Best Medicine

If taking vitamins doesn't keep you healthy enough, try more laughter: The most wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed.

-Nicolas-Sebastien Chamfort

Busy, crazy day at work. Got home and some of the guy's invited me up to eat some crawfish. That was a pleasant surprise. We sat on the porch and talked for quite some time about where to get a good breakfast in New Orleans. My suggestions were Trolley Stop and Slim Goodies, but I learned about some new places that I'd like to try.

Was thinking earlier today about a good topic for a post. It dawned on me that I had been rerunning a bit from last night's Saturday Night Live in my head... occasionally chuckling to myself. Every once in a while a character named Stefon pops up on the Weekend Update segment. Every time he's on there, I laugh til it hurts. I find him hilarious, but I am sure the humor isn't for everyone.

Anyway... My point is that I remembered how good it felt to laugh. It enriches the soul. It literally does heal (well... maybe not things like kidney stones or gunshot wounds, but who knows...). It can instantly put me in a better frame of mind. Whether from humor or joy, I realize that I need to laugh more. And I mean genuine laughter. Not the obligatory "heh heh" when someone at work says something mildly amusing.

Ya know what. I also realize that I laugh more and laugh harder when I have someone there sharing the laughter with me.

Food for thought. Have you laughed today?

Here's a vid of Stefon on SNL's Weekend Update. Like I said before. The humor isn't really offensive. Still may not be for everyone though. I love it when Bill Hader cracks up in character. Goodnight!

Peace, Love, and Jay

Whew. I'm not going to say much about today except that it is almost over. Thank God.

I love Christmas, but this one was the biggest challenge to my recovery yet. I stayed strong and pushed through it, though. I think it was obvious to anyone within 50 yards that I wasn't the happiest elf in the workshop. I owned my feelings, however, and tried to make it as pleasant for everyone around me as possible. Didn't drink. Talked to my sponsor. Called my family... Even my bio-mom. Knowing that a conversation with her wouldn't be very productive, I still wanted to wish her a Merry Christmas. She didn't disappoint. The first thing she tells me regarding her holiday is about the laxative she took this morning.

Funny thing... We had some musical lights playing near where I was working. I thought to myself, "Well. Now is a good time to unplug them since we wont need them tomorrow." I walked over to them, and I couldn't bring myself to turn them off. I suppose there is still a small part of me that hates to see Christmas go.

To be quite honest, all I looked forward to today was finding the quiet serenity of my new apartment. Here's the Thought for the Day from 24 Hours...

Many alcoholics will be saying today: "This is a good Christmas for me." They will be looking back over past Christmases, which were not like this one. They will be thanking God for their sobriety and their newfound life. They will be thinking about how their lives were changed when they came into A.A. They will be thinking that perhaps God let them live through all the hazards of their drinking careers, when they were perhaps often close to death, in order that they might be used by Him in the great work of A.A. Is this a happy Christmas for me?

I'm happy that I've lived another sober day on this earth. I'm happy in my recovery. And I am eternally grateful to God for everything. But, no. This wasn't a happy Christmas. Ya know what, though. Maybe not all of them will be great, and that's ok. :)

On a brighter note... I certainly hope you and your's had a spectacular holiday. I very much look forward to next year's.

I wish everyone Peace, Love, and Joy! Joyeux Noel!