Take Care of Your Esophagus

Stuff:  (Slang; informal) Substitution for trivial details.

I was talking to Willie today about his original sponsor, a man who passed away in peace and with dignity, sober for many years.  I shared about a in-law who came to the end of his life in a total panic, trying to right many years of selfish behavior at the last minute, begging friends and family to give to him the affection and care that he withheld from them.  It isn't hard to figure out who puts a lot of energy into a spiritual way of life and who doesn't.

A few years ago I wasn't feeling very productive so I put together a list of what I considered my most memorable accomplishments.  I revisited this list recently after reading the obituary of a high school classmate who died recently of esophageal cancer (Ed. note: never a good sign when someone you partied heartily with in high school dies and Ed. note redux: always suspicious when someone I partied heartily with dies of an esophageal affliction - alcohol seems to have an affinity for afflicting the esophagus).  This guy had a lot of "stuff" to put in his obituary - president of this society and member of that foundation and so forth.  Always make me wonder if I've done enough. and I've NEVER done enough.  I'm a guy looking for reasons to feel bad.

I'm impressed with the general tenor of the dreaded gratitude meetings in our Fellowship. There's a lot of gratitude for things that don't rank very high on society's Gotta Have list - no Corvettes or ocean-side villas or stuff like that.  My list was all about people and my relationship with a higher power who helps the world make sense.  Don't get me wrong - I've a lot of nice stuff and I thank my higher power for it every morning, before I get out of my easy chair, but it's the people that make life worth it, and the experiences, and the fact that the world really does kinda make sense.

who da thunk it?