Day 691
I watched a rocket take off today — a spaceship with men in it. I've always been fascinated by spaceflight, and more specifically, by the possibilities that are opened to us as we stretch our reach and understanding. Today was as exciting as watching the Apollo launches of my youth. Maybe even more so, because I always assumed there would be another Apollo mission. Now, for the last several years, I've assumed that we were done with manned space adventures, so this was exciting.
The spaceship was barely off the launch pad when my metaphor generator started kicking in. I reflected on all the failures and successes and failures and successes that paved the way to today. I thought about the big ones that cost people their lives, as well as the ones that saved lives that should have been lost. I thought about the little ones that led to disaster, as well as the thousands and millions of small steps every day that made big things work.
And it just hit me that the failures were all caused by mistakes. Duh! Some of the mistakes were the result of wrong thinking or decisions based on inadequate processes. Some of the errors were the result of pushing too hard for success, and not listening to the voices that knew better. And yes, some of the missteps were due to unforeseeable circumstances outside of anyone's control.
It also struck me that as much as today feels successful, it's just A success; if all they wanted to do was what they did today, what's the point? But these people even consider building a base on the moon as just a step toward interplanetary life.
Recovery has put me in a position where I can look at something great, and realize how the accomplishment has significant correlations to sobriety.
Sometimes I feel like recovery is as hard as getting to the moon, but the truth is, I'm aiming for Mars. One day at a time.
–JR
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