Yesterday we lost #Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash. The news was shocking and sad. Although I had never met him, although I had never actually watched him play in person, although my only real knowledge of him was through a video screen, I still felt impacted by his death. Many people around the world experienced the same thing that I did. It was difficult to watch and listen to the coaches and players, against whom he competed, express their sorrow at the news. It was a tragedy. But so too was the loss of life for the rest of the people on that helicopter. Children who never became adults are now taken away from their families.
As I watched the news coverage the resounding theme was that this man, a hero to so many, was more than a basketball player. He was still trying to reach the next goal. Up until the night before his death he held the position of third highest scorer of all time in the NBA. Yet in his retirement from the game he chose to move forward into new endeavors.
That’s what recovery looks like. In recovery we accomplish many great and wonderful things, but if we stand pat with a quick trip through the steps, we miss out on so much more. We have far greater things to achieve than just being “sober”. Our lives touch other people through our actions. At times like this, we often hear that we need to cherish the ones that we love because we never know what might happen next in life. That is very true, but honestly, we probably said and heard many of those same things at the last untimely celebrity death. Let’s use this time as a reminder that we have many great things yet to see in our lives. Go out there and…
Rise Up!!!
Minister Of Mocha 