Sobriety Symbols

I am really big on Sobriety Symbols. Whenever there was a full moon, I knew I had just gone another 30 days clean and sober. Each sunset was a welcome reward for a day well lived. When I was in Pensacola FPC, I remembered the sun coming up and shining across the air field and for a moment I could actually be excited about the day and what good might come. When I first got sober, I worked as a sailor aboard a dolphin watch yacht excursion and when the dolphin would come up to the boat, I knew I was free. I would sail my Hobie-Cat across Boca Ciega Bay and would sail over the dolphin. I knew that life was beautiful. Dolphin became one of the most important sobriety symbols when I was assigned to carve dolphin in the wood shop. Other sobriety symbols became more than coins or tokens. They included butterflies, shells, lost pennies, palm trees, birds, pens, stationary and many more things.

Run for Gua Africa

Today, I registered the website - www.RunforGuaAfrica.com - to raise money for Gua Africa and Emma Academy in Sudan. My goal is $10,000 from $1 contributions from 10,000 people. Chicago Marathon 10-10-10!! You can do anything you really want to do!!

Absolute Freedom

I started this blog to express my sense of adventure in my recovery from alcoholism and to reclaim my passion for life. To know my story, please refer to my blog entry on February 17, 2010. This week I became a free man on another level. On May 19, 2010, I celebrated my 48th birthday. On May 18, 2010, I stood before Chief Judge James Holderman in the federal court for the Northern District of Illinois. At that time, I presented a motion to terminate my probation. On February 17, 2007, Judge Holderman had sentenced me to 24 months in federal prison and three years probation. I had pled guilty to 2 counts of document fraud for creating false documents to cover for the fact that I had not submitted documents on behalf of clients whom I represented before the US Immigration and Naturalization Service. I surrendered my law license and basically lost everything in my life.

Could there be any good news to this? Yes, I discovered who I was and found an unshakable faith and an eternal strength!! I regained myself and accomplished more than I ever imagined I would. I found life and became a new man. I became a sober man of adventure.

Judge Holderman granted my motion and ordered that my civil rights be restored. I am humbled and remorseful what had happened, but I now know that all bad things can be transformed into good things.

Prayer Power - Lord's Prayer translated from Aramaic into English

Father, Mother of the cosmos

Shimmering light of all,

Focus your light within me,

As I breathe your holy breath.

Enter the sanctuary of my heart.

Uniting within me the sacred rays of

your power and beatuy.

Let your heart's desire unte heaven and earth through our scred union.

Help me fulfill what lies within the circles of my life this day,

Forgive my secret fears as I forgive the secret fears of others.

Let me not enter into forgetfullness termpered by false appearances,

For from your astonishing fire comes the eternal song which sanctifies all.

Renewd eternally in my life and throughout creation,

I seal these words in my heart committed in trust and fatih.  Ah-men.
Joshua Gen Joseph

Miracles Happen...

Miracles happen when we least expect them...like when we feel sad and then suddenly we get good news. Our prayers get answered. We have good luck. Life can be difficult, but lived well, it is truly wonderful.

50 Days of Fitness - Never Give Up On a Dream

I have made numerous goals all my life. Prior to my recovery, I had all kinds of goals and ambitions, but they often became wishes and I took no action to making them come true. I have learned that setting goals, then repeating them daily and constantly reminding myself of them are very important parts of the process of achieving these goals. However, when I start taking action. When I begin...that's when the miracles start to happen.

Today, I begin Phase One of my training - 50 Days of Fitness and Fellowship. On October 10, 2010, I will run the Chicago Marathon to support US Empowered, American Foundation for Children with AIDS, Mentor Africa and GUA - Africa. I plan to raise $10,000 by asking 10,000 people for $1. I dream it, manifest it and then, the most important part, I DO IT!!!

I have learned to never compromise on a dream, but to always compromise on how it will come true!

Integrity - Do the Right Thing

May - The Month of Integrity. There was a time when I was a trusted advisor to many. I violated that trust and I will spend the rest of my life making amends and rebuilding my integrity by doing the right thing on a daily basis. The key to integrity is "Have the courage to say No. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity." - W. Clement Stone. In the adventure of recovery, we learned honesty in Step 1, hope in Step 2, faith in Step 3, courage in Step 4 and now integrity in Step 5. These are the qualities that now grow in us as we grow and practice these principles in all our affairs.

Courage to Integrity

I believe that these steps of courage to integrity and miracle steps. By taking a complete inventory of my life, by honesty looking at the good and bad, admitting it and facing God and man, that is integrity for the first time in a long time...and it only grows. I believe that each one of us ahas a special gift or talent that is better than ANYONE else in the world. That makes each one of us very special, priceless. I also believe that it is the great equalizer because that makes EVERYONE better than us at something...