The Importance of Sobriety Calculators
Time is a factor that’s involved in various questions in life. How long have you been married? How long have you been at your current job? The list goes on and on. Anniversaries are celebrated to acknowledge the memory of these achievements, but if the accomplishment is sobriety, every second should be acknowledged. With a sobriety calculator, you can quickly determine how many years, days, weeks, minutes and seconds you’ve been drug or alcohol free.
Having access to this calculator allows you to remember all that you’ve accomplished during your journey to recovery. Making the first call, enrolling in a treatment program, beginning treatment, undergoing detox, achieving sobriety, etc. Every step deserves to be recognized, but the joy of crossing the finish line to recovery (and staying there) is the ultimate reward, and it’s a step we hope is only taken once. A sobriety calculator can serve as a symbol of this reward but also as a reminder of the past, so that it’s never repeated.
The Birthday Plan
Contributions to the General Service Office support G.S.O.’s services to members and groups throughout Canada and the U.S. and help ensure that the A.A. message is carried around the world. The services that the G.S.O. provides the A.A. groups cost more than $6 per member per year. Members customarily contribute $1, $2 or even $5 a year for each year of sobriety‒–others may give a penny or a nickel a day for each day of their sobriety. GSO, PO Box 459, Grand Central Station, New York, NY, 10163 or follow this link for more information.
Other Ways to Celebrate Sobriety
While a sobriety calculator is a great way to track how long you’ve lived a life void of drugs and/or alcohol, there are many other ways to celebrate sobriety as well. Some people celebrate every year while others do so every six months or even more often. The following are just a few of the many ways you can honor your sobriety:
- Spend time in nature (picnic in the park, go camping, etc.)
- Host a dinner party or have dinner at a nice restaurant with friends
- Volunteer somewhere/help someone else in need
- Plant a tree
- Go on a trip
- Attend a meeting to celebrate with others and let them see the program in action
- Write a poem about your experience
- Share your story aloud or in writing