Perspective

Perspective: A proper evaluation with proportional importance given to the component parts.

I have a problem with my espresso machine. This is not a situation that I'm going to share with my sponsor today because I have a pretty good idea that his advice will be a bit low in sympathy content. Any problem that includes the phrase "my espresso machine" is probably not going to be much of a problem at all. Problems with Porsche mechanics, stock portfolio managers, and Maui vacation home realtors are nice problems to have. Problems of prosperity, we call them. All of the problems I have today are a direct result of my sobriety. I didn't have an espresso machine when I was drunk. I didn't have a kitchen to put an espresso machine in, either.



I go to a weekly Big Book meeting at a local jail. It's often the best meeting that I attend -- those guys teach me more about my disease than almost anyone else. I learn what would have happened to me if I kept drinking and drugging, and didn't die. Often I'll interrupt a sponsee who is weaving a long tale of self-absorbed woe and suggest that they come on down to the jail and tell that story to the boys. No one has taken me up on it yet. I like to ask myself: "Can I share this with people who are going to sleep in a cell tonight?"

Wow, was that cup of espresso delicious this morning.