Here we are just days before we ring in another new year and ring in 2025. This year has certainly flown by, it seems like only yesterday I was preparing myself for my excursion to India or getting ready for my 40th birthday. It's hard to believe that those two events were six and four months ago respectively already. It also feels like I just got done preparing for the holiday season that is coming to a close with the start of the new year. So much has gone on this year it's hard to wrap my head around. Maybe it is just because I'm not under the influence and actually present for all the things or it could just be that I simply pushed myself to my limits and crammed as much as possible into the last 366 days. Either way, the year has come to a close and a new chapter will begin.

I must realize and accept that what this year has brought is not guaranteed to repeat itself in the upcoming year, actually I can fully count on it being quite different. Every moment ends with the start of another, struggles can become victories, triumphs can become pitfalls. No matter what happens or may happen I must keep this notion in the forefront of my mind at all times. Addiction is a dangerous, insidious beast and is constantly waiting for us to let our guards down or become too comfortable or complacent. As history has proven to us time and time again that this never ends well for us in recovery. As many of us have, I have lost entirely too many people due to this disease. I have also had to build and rebuild so many times it is tiring. I'm sick of starting over from scratch, so I must remember, not dwell, on where I came from, what I have achieved, but also how unpredictable the next moment can be. This is the first full year that I have ever tried to cease being the director of my own story and turned things over to something greater than myself, the times I have tried to write my own script are the times I struggled the most. These lessons will help me prepare for whatever life throws my way. Some situations will be unfamiliar, but unlike the past I don't have to run or live my life in fear from these situations but rather take them head on, with a clear head and zero expectations. May you all have a blessed New Year and until next time.