(Culled from http://www.allthingspositivity.com/)
In this month and now week of gratitude, I must tell this story that I’ve been holding onto for some time.
In this month and now week of gratitude, I must tell this story that I’ve been holding onto for some time.
A few years back, a friend of mine came into some very hard times in his life. A sad story indeed as he lost his job, a daughter to leukemia, and both of his parents all in one year. But somehow through it all he kept his sobriety of 21 years intact. That is until the day he almost gave up.
He was doing some odd jobs here and there while he continued to look for work in his field. He had just finished his 8 hours at a gig he picked up that was near Water Tower Place. The demons of his mind were trying to trick him into thinking that a drink or two wouldn’t be a bad thing. So he set out to go to a watering hole that he used to frequent from ‘the good ol’ days.’ Surely some of the people would recognize him and welcome him back, he thought.
But on his way to the bar he encountered a group of people holding signs that said, ‘Free Hugs’. He told me that a short lil’ lady approached him and said that he really looked like he could use a hug, opened her arms out and hugged him. Then the rest of the ‘huggers’ took turns hugging him. He said that a man hugged him the hardest and told him that everything will be alright.
That act of kindness by this wonderful group of people brought him to tears as he walked away. Instead of going to the bar and relapsing, he got on the train and went home. He got a job back in his field a short time later and has since relocated to Texas and is doing wonderful! And he is still sober today.
He was doing some odd jobs here and there while he continued to look for work in his field. He had just finished his 8 hours at a gig he picked up that was near Water Tower Place. The demons of his mind were trying to trick him into thinking that a drink or two wouldn’t be a bad thing. So he set out to go to a watering hole that he used to frequent from ‘the good ol’ days.’ Surely some of the people would recognize him and welcome him back, he thought.
But on his way to the bar he encountered a group of people holding signs that said, ‘Free Hugs’. He told me that a short lil’ lady approached him and said that he really looked like he could use a hug, opened her arms out and hugged him. Then the rest of the ‘huggers’ took turns hugging him. He said that a man hugged him the hardest and told him that everything will be alright.
That act of kindness by this wonderful group of people brought him to tears as he walked away. Instead of going to the bar and relapsing, he got on the train and went home. He got a job back in his field a short time later and has since relocated to Texas and is doing wonderful! And he is still sober today.
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