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Posts from September, 2008
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Open House Success
Thank you to all who attended Maplegrove's Open House - we packed the Family Center! There were old friends and new friends, visiting counselors and community members, Henry Ford Health System leaders and co-workers. There were information booths, great food creations and tours of the new patient rooms. There were surprises and hugs. I thank everyone for making it such a memorable day and for all their endless support!
Posted by mseyrig on 09/06/2008 at 8:45 AM Comments (0)
The Final Leg
As I begin the final leg of my journey, I think about what impressed me most along the way. Although Michigan's natural splendor was at times breathtaking, most memorable were the people I met. Seeing with my eyes the wonderful creations of nature was one thing, seeing with my heart the awesome kindness and generosity of people was truly a marvelous thing to behold. Such was my privilege throughout this trip. Old friends and complete strangers (now new friends) demonstrated the innate goodness which resides in each of us. I firmly believe that freely sharing that goodness is the highest of human callings. We are all walking atomic bombs of goodness waiting to be detonated by some life-changing event. Mine was recovery. What will yours be?
Posted by mseyrig on 08/27/2008 at 8:26 AM Comments (4)
My hat's off to you!
Today, I leave Ortonville and it was a glorious Michigan summer day! On Sunday I was fortunate enough to speak to about 60 people at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting at UAW Local 1292 in Grand Blanc Township. You can read more about it in a story from the Flint Journal.
As I walk, I think about all the wonderful people who helped make my walk and speaking opportunities like this happen. They are the real heroes. My hat's off to them. They will always have my undying gratitude.
Posted by mseyrig on 08/26/2008 at 5:48 AM Comments (1)
Fresh Start
Today, I’d like to share with you something very personal and powerful. Like so many others in recovery, I dealt with a lot of deep-seated guilt. I felt guilty about the years I had wasted and the people I had hurt, especially my son Mike. One day I came to him asking forgiveness for being such a poor parent. I’ll never forget his words - this is what he said: “If you weren’t who you were then, I wouldn’t be who I am now.” I was stunned by the power of his words. With one sentence, Mike removed years of gut-wrenching guilt. I no longer had to justify, rationalize, obscure and lie about all my previous poor parenting decisions. I was free to start fresh and be the dad I always wanted to be. Once again, I could love my son without condition or suspicion. Today, Mike and I attend college together. We meet for coffee or lunch, study together, laugh and joke around. And we’re both studying Social Work, in hopes of helping others. Now, how cool is that?
Posted by mseyrig on 08/25/2008 at 5:30 AM Comments (1)
Maplegrove Open House
I wanted to invite all of you to an open house to celebrate National Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Month that will take place 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 3 at Maplegrove Center, 6773 West Maple Road, in West Bloomfield. The open house will include a special ceremony at noon; information sessions with therapists who treat adolescents at 11 a.m.; exhibits on recovery and other health care topics; tours of new patient rooms; chair massage; live music and refreshments. I'll be there to meet many of you who have followed my progress here on my blog and who have supported me during my 350-mile walk. For more information, call (248) 788-3001. Hope to see you there!!
Posted by mseyrig on 08/25/2008 at 5:29 AM Comments (0)
Forgiveness
I hit the road again bright and early today. Going to try and push ahead of schedule by making it to Clio today. By now, I've walked more than 200 miles. That might seem like a long distance to some, but it is nothing compared to the distances created by hatred and resentment. Unforgiveness can construct seemingly uncrossable canyons. My point is, if I can walk more than 200 miles because I love you (and don't even know you), can you take the first step in forgiving someone you do know? Hatred and resentment only bind the person within whom they reside. It is best to be free of such worrisome weight. Step into the sunlight and breathe in the fresh air of forgiveness. Then, you too can step lightly, unencumbered by anger or bitterness, free to walk your own walk and enjoy the people who cross your path.
Posted by mseyrig on 08/22/2008 at 5:20 AM Comments (2)
Smiles
Michigan is magnificent! The smell of the evergreens; cool, fresh mornings; beautiful sunsets; starry nights – who needs booze? The pleasantness and beauty of nature is simply overwhelming. This is the reality I missed when I was drinking. I can now see clearly that drinking distorted my sense of perception. It replaced what was real with a counterfeit reality, created by years of accumulated false perceptions. I could no longer distinguish between real and counterfeit. I was trapped in the world between my ears and blind to what was really going on. I have a favorite saying that goes like this, “It’s not what you don’t know that’ll hurt you. It’s what you think you know for sure, that just ain’t so.” I’ve spent the last few years combing through my life and have found some unhealthy misconceptions. The sooner I got rid of these distorted ideas, the clearer things became. Now, I can look at the world and smile. Guess what? It smiles back!
Posted by mseyrig on 08/21/2008 at 4:54 AM Comments (2)
Grateful
I finally had the opportunity to open my blog and read the writings and responses that have been posted. Feelings welled up from the very core of me that I could not readily identify - deep gratitude mixed with tears of uncertainty about the meaning of all of this. I am a simple man learning how to live life anew. I only hope to get it right this time.
When I first came to Maplegrove, I brought hope. I hoped someone could show me how to escape my seemingly ceaseless and senseless trap of addiction. Next, I learned that hope was not enough. I had to have a genuine willingness to do whatever was necessary to break the bonds of my lethal compulsions. Something wonderful emerged as I combined hope and willingness - faith.
They say faith without works is dead. I've seen death and I fully understand its inevitability. But today I choose life! I walk to prove to my son, family, friends, myself and whoever these words reach that faith acted upon is strength. Coupled with goodwill, it is a force capable of transcending all obstacles and barriers to awaken people to their true purpose - loving and caring for one another. I know it sounds like a cliché, but think of it this way - if I had a million dollars and kept gifting it to myself, what good would it do and what enjoyment would I derive from it? It's a loop of absurdity. In recovery, I have been given "The Gift" that I have been searching and waiting for all my life - "MYSELF!" What good am I unless I gift myself to others?
With love and humility, I sincerely appreciate everyone's kind words and wishes. I will treasure your thoughts and intentions for as long as I live.
Posted by mseyrig on 08/20/2008 at 5:51 AM Comments (2)
Joy
I am ahead of schedule, headed to Bay City. I did 24 miles yesterday (with my backpack!) and had plenty of time to think. Three years ago, I'd have never dreamt of doing something like this, but today, it is a reality. Back then, I was way to selfish. Today, I understand that "selfish" is the same as "foolish." The only thing worth having in life is joy and that is not worth having if it isn't shared.
Posted by mseyrig on 08/19/2008 at 5:18 AM Comments (1)
Memorial Markers
I am approaching Standish and as I walk, I pass dozens of those memorial markers where people have been killed in accidents, even on smaller side roads with hardly any traffic. If you take all the ones I've seen on my walk just in Michigan and multiply that by all the states across the nation - that is a lot of people. I have to wonder, how many of these accidents were alcohol related? The fact is, alcohol kills, it hurts... and people need to know how serious this disease is.
Posted by mseyrig on 08/18/2008 at 7:03 AM Comments (3)
Days of Discovery!
Although I love the term “recovery,” I am often tempted to exchange it for “discovery.” Everyday, it seems as though I discover something new about life, myself and others. But the greatest revelations are usually observations of things previously overlooked, the natural order of things and life beyond physical perception – the power of a smile, the wonderment in children’s eyes, the ability of tears to reach where hands can’t touch, the love in my heart for all the good people in my life. What will you discover today?
Posted by mseyrig on 08/15/2008 at 5:49 AM Comments (4)
What Can We Do?
So many of you have shared your support on my blog - thank you so much! Andrew L. asked, "What can we do to help support you in your journey? We want to help, but only if it is meaningful to you." There are many things people can do in support - They can spread the word about recovery. They can help to share positive experiences to reduce the negative stigma associated with the disease. They can help to educate people about the disease, as it is an illness, not a character flaw. They can volunteer services to help others who are in recovery. Personally, just knowing people like you, Andrew, have expressed your support, is a great support to me as I walk!
Pedestrian Philosophy for today: We go through life much like human pencils, writing our own life stories. We can choose to thoughtfully express ourselves or scribble nonsense. That is the same as the difference between using and sobriety.
Posted by mseyrig on 08/14/2008 at 5:11 AM Comments (2)
Mini-epiphanies
Thinking back, the problems in my life were many and complex and so were the answers. Just like this walk, one step at a time, the greatest adversities of life become bearable, manageable and surmountable. I don’t know if it’s just me or do other people have similar things happen to them, but I think of songs when I’m in trouble. It’s a subconscious thing that happens automatically. Out of the blue, a song, that somehow describes the situation I’m in, pops into my head. They’re like mini-epiphanies. In the lyrics of one of her songs, Amy Grant sang, “The answer to your question lies in the middle of your pain.” The paradoxical nature of that statement intrigued me. Suddenly, it all became crystal clear. During my drinking years, I was running away from pain and problems. If I had only embraced them and learned from them, I’d have gotten on with the business of life sooner. I’d have been further down the road. I guess you could say drinking is like walking backwards. Boy, I sure am glad to be sober today!
Posted by mseyrig on 08/13/2008 at 5:50 AM Comments (0)
Backpacks!
I've got a beautiful day here - sunny skies! I just left Mio and am heading into Rose City. The Pedestrian Philosophy for today: My backpack is a lot like my old ideas. As I move along in recovery, I discover what I don't need and what has been weighing me down all along.
Posted by mseyrig on 08/12/2008 at 6:37 AM Comments (3)
Improvise
Monday, I left Comins and headed to Mio. Sunday was a rainy day, ALL day! There was a steady drizzle and I had problems with my shoes. I tried cutting them to make them fit better but that didn't work so I ended up walking the last 10 miles in my wet socks. Like with recovery, sometimes you've got to improvise but you just have to keep pushing through!
Posted by mseyrig on 08/12/2008 at 6:32 AM Comments (0)
Changes
On Friday, I walked down Highway 33, and walked 28 miles. When I stared this walk, I told myself, if I affect even one life then this will have been worth it. I was reminded of that when a man called me yesterday to say, "I'm that one person!" He said he heard me talk in Petoskey and he was inspired to make positive changes in his life, including going back to school. Another woman called to say she read the story in the Observer & Eccentric and she was inspired to go back into AA. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen." And this is what I hoped for when I started my walk! The weather is beautiful today, 70s, no clouds - who could ask for more?!
I would like to thank Greg and Amy Karpinski who allowed me to stay with them and were my guardian angels for part of my journey!
Posted by mseyrig on 08/12/2008 at 6:23 AM Comments (0)
Lasting Impressions
As I was leaving Gaylord, I walked across a sidewalk that had obviously been poured in autumn as you could see that leaves had left their individual impressions in the cement.
I thought how life is like that. We have to make decisions on the actions we take and on the words we say that then become the impressions we leave behind. We can choose to do good with those words and actions and that becomes our legacy. Just one man's Pedestrian Philosophy!
Posted by mseyrig on 08/08/2008 at 5:11 AM Comments (4)
Hope Around Each Corner
Yesterday was a day of rest and reflection for me after a very difficult, hot Tuesday!
I got to Almira - finally! My legs didn't want to carry me any further. I was exhausted. I was out of water and very hungry. I was really feeling like I just wanted to lay right where I was but I saw a homecooking cafe. The parking lot was full - with about 40 motorcycles! I debated about going in but I was really hungry and needed to eat. So, I went in. I said hello and started talking to the guys. I told them about my walk and all about recovery. I can hardly believe it but these great guys paid for my lunch, then they passed the hat and made a donation to Maplegrove!
So, today as I rest in Gaylord, my reflection is how this experience mirrors recovery: You push your limits in recovery and always try new things, you have to act contrary to what your mind says. My mind was telling me, I couldn't go another step. But just when you think you can't, around the corner is new hope. The people I meet inspire me. When I feel the lowest, they rejuvenate me.
Posted by mseyrig on 08/07/2008 at 5:38 AM Comments (1)
Why I Walk
In my mind as I walk, I’m going over the events which led me here.
October 25, 2005, I checked into Maplegrove hoping I could finally escape the squirrel-cage of alcoholism I was trapped in and somehow get my life back. Everything was out of control. Dad had several strokes; mom was diagnosed with lung cancer and advanced dementia; the business venture with my brother flopped; I was embroiled in legal disputes; I was divorced, again; the bottom fell out of the real estate market and I took a shellacking on the sale of my home; all of this and a dozen other mishaps occurred within the span of a year.
Maplegrove helped me. I stopped drinking and was finally able to face reality. Then, exactly one year into recovery, on “devil’s-night 2006,” fire destroyed the large commercial building I owned. I couldn’t afford the insurance premium, so all my remaining possessions went up in smoke. The other foot had come down hard. Now, I was morally broken and penniless. They don’t write Hollywood scripts this bizarre. There was something going on beyond my understanding. Even I could not orchestrate or devise such a synchronistic symphony of demise. Only a few years ago, I was the CEO of a thriving multi-million dollar printing company. Now, I was struggling desperately to stay sober as the caregiver of two frail and aging parents.
It seemed as though I had lost everything. That is, everything except my sobriety. It was all I had left. So, I held onto it with all my might. I immersed myself in all that “recovery” offered and taught. I needed answers to the “whys” of my life and I got them – one at a time. First, I accepted the fact that there was a Power beyond my control affecting my destiny. There were no doubts in my mind about that anymore. Recognizing this, I needed a basic understanding of this Force. Apparently, if you oppose or ignore it, then it has no bearing on your life and you are left up to your own devices. I saw where that got me – no thanks! But, if you cooperate with this Power, better yet, if you collaborated with it, great things become possible. Even a life in shambles can be restored. Restoration through recovery is a gift so great and uncontainable that it demands of those who possess it to share liberally and lovingly. That is why I walk.
In a world that has existed for eons; on a tiny planet among billions; spinning on its axis and traveling around the Sun at over 20,000 miles per hour, we were born at this particular time in history to a particular family with a set of particular circumstances, friends and acquaintances. Is it all an accident? Or, do we come in and out of each other’s lives by design – for a reason. I choose to believe the latter.
I have come to where my life has prompted me. I have walked nearly 3,000 miles over the last year in preparation for this event. This walk symbolizes what sobriety means to me and millions of other recovering alcoholics. Step by step, we “trudge the road to happy destiny”, “not regretting the past, nor closing the door on it.” (Quotations taken from the Big Book and the Promises of AA)
Posted by mseyrig on 08/06/2008 at 5:22 AM Comments (2)
Early Morning Start
It is 8:30 a.m. and I am almost to Boyne Falls, half way through my walk for today. It is going to be a hot one so I started early to get a jump on the heat. But the morning is beautiful and the air is sweet.
I've been carrying a 50-pound backpack with me and a man just pulled over and asked me if I wanted a lift. I said no, I was on a walk from Mackinaw City to West Bloomfield, Michigan. He asked what for and I said, "For recovery!" He looked at me and said, "Well, I am in recovery, too!" He told me his name and I asked what nationality that was and he said he was Ukranian. I smiled and said I was Ukranian too! We talked for a while, he offered me a donation and wished me luck.
It is going to be one long, hot day but when you meet special people like that along the way, you know you're on the right path!
Posted by mseyrig on 08/05/2008 at 7:24 AM Comments (0)
Greetings from Petoskey!
Thank you so much for your great posts! It is nice to know people are coming together for support! And, they've been coming together as I walk, too. I've been talking to many people as I meet them along the way, including the small business owners who stop to greet me.
Over the weekend, I left Mackinaw City, went through Levering and continued to Petoskey. On Saturday, I gave a talk at the Petoskey Presbyterian Church. A good number of people from Voices for Recovery came out and it was a wonderful evening.
Today, it looks like rain so I am trying to speed up my walking and make some progress before it really begins to pour!
Posted by mseyrig on 08/04/2008 at 5:54 AM Comments (1)
Welcome to Alex's Blog!
My name is Alex and, fortunately, I am an alcoholic. That's right! I said fortunately, because my alcoholism eventually led me to treatment and a life in recovery. Along the way I discovered a new life, happier and healthier than I could have ever imagined a few short years ago. It was a difficult time. I had little reason to live and was rapidly wasting my life in isolation and physical neglect. Alcoholism made my world devoid of goodness and joy, replacing it with darkness and fear; I felt helpless and hopeless. Maybe you know someone trapped in a similar situation?
Good fortune provided me a second chance at life. My sobriety and salvation began at Henry Ford Health System's Maplegrove Center. The experience changed my world for the better and can do the same for others struggling with alcoholism and substance dependency. Maplegrove is a place where patients learn to rebuild and reclaim their lives, well-being and a sense of hope through rehabilitation and treatment. The sad truth is that too few of those suffering from alcoholism and chemical dependency find their way to treatment and the care they so desperately need.
Those dependent on alcohol and drugs affect us all directly or indirectly. Many lives are lost daily because of substance misuse - auto accidents, failed health, crime and incarceration, homicides and suicides. Those left living are victims as well and many of these tragedies are avoidable.
I chose to walk more than 300 miles across Michigan not only to celebrate National Recovery Month, but to plant the seeds of sobriety throughout our communities and get the word out that help and hope are within reach!
I invite you to join me on this journey and check back to my blog for updates as I walk from Mackinaw City to Maplegrove Center in West Bloomfield. Together we can be a force for good, helping others to reclaim their lives through recovery.
My recovery began at Maplegrove and for that I will be forever grateful. My only regret, I wish I had come to Maplegrove sooner.
Alex Maysura
Henry Ford Health System's Maplegrove Center provides a full spectrum of substance abuse treatment and support services for people of all ages. If you or a family member is ready to take the first step toward recovery, call (248) 661-6100. To donate to the Maplegrove Patient Care Fund, visit www.henryford.com/giving.
Posted by mseyrig on 07/31/2008 at 5:39 AM Comments (17)
