October 6: Next Year's Journey, Few Things I've Learned, Addiction Sucks

As I embark upon my next year's journey in life, I thought I'd list a few things I've learned over the past 365 days:

• Don't take anything for granted.  Life can change in a hummingbird's heartbeat.  One moment, you are on stable, easy ground.  The next, you're treading quicksand.  So, make sure to appreciate even the smallest, most mundane moments every day.  
• You can't choose who you love.  Love chooses for you.
• The person you love the most is the person who can hurt you the most.
• Mental illness sucks.
• Addiction sucks.
• You cannot force an addict to become sober, no matter how hard you try.
• Addiction is a selfish disease.  An addict will turn his back on his significant other, children, family, job,  and life in pursuit of his addiction.
• You can't love a person into sobriety.
• Did I mention that addiction sucks?
• I am stronger than I realized.
• God is looking out for me, all the time.  When I was at rock bottom this past year, staring up at the sky from the pit of a forgotten well, God stepped in, rolled up His sleeves, and went to work.
• There are tons of people in my life who care about me very deeply.
• My daughter is an amazing person.  She's smarter and stronger than I will ever be.
• Poetry can save your life.
• Friends come and go, like busboys in a restaurant, as Stephen King wrote.
• There is nothing wrong with sameness.  Boring is not bad.  It's stable and comforting.
• Sometimes, simply getting out of bed in the morning is the biggest victory of your day.
• Never, EVER say to yourself, "Well, it couldn't get any worse!"  It WILL get worse.
• I could live at Walt Disney World.
• I am not a big fan of blizzards or snow storms.  
• I still have dreams.
• Hope is a sustaining life force, not an unrealistic fantasy.
• Fear really is the opposite of faith.  
• Don't chew loudly around me.  I will kill you.
• I hate Donald Trump.
• My son is sweet, generous, and loving.
• My son is frustrating and short-tempered.
• I love my son.
• I love my daughter.
• I love my wife.
• Love always wins.

There you have it!  Saint Marty's life lessons for 2018/2019.  Print them on a tee-shirt.  Make a meme.  Turn them into an app.  Just remember, Saint Marty gets a 40% cut of the profits.