I was going to blog about the total rip to society of the slap on the wrist Enron's Fastow just received, which is basically a few years in a federal prison. Steal millions, go to Club Fed. Possess a vial of crack, go to a state prison for years, especially if you're unable to hire private counsel.
I was going to rant, that is, until I received the October issue of The NA Way. I read the short essay "Eighty-four days," written from an addict incarcerated in an Iranian prison, and it made me remember why I am so grateful to have been born in this nation. I'd like to reprint it here. The letter reads:
"My name is Habib and I am an addict. Greetings to all the addicts at the Central Prison of Qazvin, and to all NA groups around the world.
"I am writing this letter as I pass the final moments of my life. I am very close to death. I wish to send a message to all fellow members: I got clean through a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in jail, and through attending these meetings, I stopped using drugs [widely available in jail, according to a member of the H&I subcommittee in Iran]. I have become very close to God. I feel good, and I am at peace with myself and the world. I have accepted the will of God.
I'd like to ask you fellows to stay clean and be of service. Try to help other addicts stay clean physically, mentally and spiritually. Please continue this path to save other addicts. I have nothing else to say. My name is Habib, and by dawn my life will end. I will be hanged for the crimes I committed, but I have been clean for eighty-four days beside you [Emphasis mine]. I wish success for all addicts . . . members and non-members. God bless."
Habib, Qazvin, Iran.
If don't know how you're feeling, but I've lost the desire to rant today.
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2 comments:
one of my favorite old timers 'explained' gratitude in a very similar way, when anyone asked him what he meant by it. gratitude to me is just when we consider ALL the options out there that we are mostly utterly oblivious of because we're FAR TOO BUSY thinking about ourselves! theres SO much suffering out there, and our lives are a picnic really, compared to most. thanks for sharing that story, i loved reading that letter..
I was pissed because I had no shoes(Monlo Blanecs no dought) until I saw a woman with no feet.
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