Give peace a chance

Hi Stephen thanks for reminding me how epic Texas are! My music choices are Harry Belafonte and Hall and Oates at the moment....random to say the least. I second Glint, you are inspirational. If you could bottle your attitude you'd be a millionaire. Here's to many more GF days S:)

Thankyou for the great posts on my diary . Encouragement , advice and humour are just what the doctor ordered . Often the issues raised capture the imagination and are good food for thought .

Changemylife . Your observations on life and emotions is fascinating , shows good insight into what makes us tick . Best wishes with your bucket list , wondering if your allowed to take things out of the bucket if they lose their appeal ! Think I might get another bucket ! my dreams and aspirations took a real battering with the gambling .

Glint . Enjoyed that post , it brought a smile to my face . Liked the quote " If there is no struggle, there is no progress". Recovery is a massive struggle but I ask myself does it have to be that way . I can't win an argument with addiction , I can't reason with addiction , what I can do is ignore and say ' talk to the hand cos i'm not listening ' . Suppose we all have our own strategies and coping mechanisms . I liked your Haiku on the Guru Challenge thread , you have quite a gift there . Impressed with your profile picture . I am assuming it is some far off part of our galaxy . Exploding supernovas and loads of exciting space stuff . Space dust makes up planets and even people so it's really a picture of home sweet home !

Sharon . Thankyou for always been there with good advice and support . Will have a good listen to your music recommendations and than post my verdict on your diary .

As always my thoughts are with friends who are feeling sadness and struggling with the addiction . Every last one of us can empathise with your suffering , no judges here only friends who want to find peace and contentment . I believe we can gain strength from our solidarity and support of each other . Let's do this together .

Approaching 120 Days GF .

Sincerest gratitude to all my GamCare brothers and sisters . Without you all alongside me I doubt I would have got this far .

My music choice for today is ' Brothers in Arms ' by Dire Straits .

Aaah Dire Straits, a double sided coin for me but 'romeo and juliet' gets me every time. But good choice of song for the fight against gambling. Am with you all the way Stephen, take care S:)

Morning Diary . 120 Days since I last gambled . Feeling a real buzz about it all , seems like I have a ticket out of the gambling hellhole I was festering in . Only managed a couple of hours sleep tonight but not bothered about that . Going for a swim at 6-30 , will make sure I get to GA meeting tonight .

Yesterday I enrolled on a 10 week creative writing course with the induction on 19th September , should be interesting . Not gambling meant I could afford the course fees without a problem , however the addiction did try telling me to get the bookies to pay for it.

My music choice for today is ' Hero ' by Mariah Carey . I think many compulsive gamblers undervalue themselves and the chorus of this song seems to reflect on that .

And than a hero comes along - With the strength to carry on - And you cast your fears aside - And you know you can survive - So when you feel like hope is gone - Look inside you and be strong - And you'll finally see the truth - That a hero lies in you .

Amazing you've signed up for a creative writing course. I truly think you will be a wonderful. I hope you enjoy it, learn lots and make some new friends. You've got a real talent for words and I look forward to hearing how this goes over the coming months...

Has actually made my day to hear you've signed up to the course, even better that you can afford it because you're GF. Happy Friday Stephen S:)

Thank you for your post on my diary Abstainer. Wise words indeed. I see your doing remarkably well yourself . Keep going no turning back now . All the best

Hi Stephen

Really pleased you have enrolled in the course, I reckon you will get some real enjoyment and enthusiasm from it. Will give you plenty more to spend your time on too. That little gambling monster will always tell you maybe you can win money to pay for things but let us tell you....what if you lose?....and we all know eventually you will lose, then you don't get the course at all and a potential good thing in your life gets taken away again.

Loving the daily song choices, I have listened to a lot of music in recent times. It's funny how so many songs we can finally hear the words, rather than just the beat of the music.

Have a great weekend mate and congratulations on your 120 days.....62 more and you reach the half a year landmark.

Matt

Thankyou for the posts on my diary , as always greatly appreciated .

Attended GA meeting tonight which was good . Interesting topics of discussion and a sense of solidarity .

Morning Diary . 121 Days GF . Music choice for the day ' It's My Life ' by Bon Jovi . Like the lyrics , great music and great video on youtube .

You'd better stand tall when they're calling you out

Don't bend , don't break , baby , don't back down

Hi Stephen, thanks for posting and hope you're having a super weekend. Indeed Christmas will be even better thus year not gambling! ! Great music choice, simple but to the point message. Take care S:)

Morning Diary . 122 days since my last bet . What a beautiful day . Tempted to stop reading the news as it depresses me, I cant change the terrible things going on in the world so I think I might instead choose blissful ignorance !

I will be forever grateful to GamCare friends for supporting me in recovery, my music selection today reflects that .

' Everybodys Free ( To Feel Good ) by Rozalla .

We are a family that should stand together as one

Helping each other instead of just wasting time

Now is the moment to reach out to someone, it is all up to you

When everyones sharing there hope

Than love will win through

Thank you for your very supportive posts Abstainer to which I've responded on my thread.

Great lyrics you've posted here, by the way - and, you're right, there's so much going on in the world it's best to glance the headlines and no more. Nowt we can do about it... BUT lots we can do for ourselves and our nearests and dearests.

THAT'S what matters. All the best, my friend,

Mixer

Thank you for the warm welcome and quote Stephen.

Much appreciated.

Took a couple of reads to get my head round the quote - makes sense now.

My profile picture is a constellation. It's very cool. Has deep personal meaning I won't go into, also kinda represents discovery, going beyond and fits well with my username.

As always enjoyed reading this thread. Liking the new daily songs. Interesting to see how you go with the creative writing and if we see some of your work in the diary. Certainly think you have a big head start on this course.

If the GamCare was a course on internet forum posting, I would be awarding you an A* Stephen.