I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Today we’re celebrating another JohnnyO Gratitude Day!

The Before and the After
Written July 24, 2023 (Day 939)
For Gratitude Day July 28, 2023

As I write this piece on my 939th day of total sobriety, there is no question in my mind that writing and taking the time to express myself thoughtfully has been a big part of my recovery. It is instructive to look at old photos just to realize how bad I was.

This first photo was taken upon my intake to Senior Support Services in Denver, on June 15th, 2013. I was homeless, living in a friend’s tools shed, and content to keep drinking daily while I worked on another major deal.

At some point in my forays into wellness, I spent quite a bit of time at the Central Denver Public Library. I participated in the “Hard Times Writer’s Group” sponsored by DPL and facilitated by Lighthouse Writer’s Group. This had a great impact on me.

One day at the library, in the library Coffee shop, I was privileged to meet a person who I consider a living saint among us, Nicole Huguenin.

We developed quite a friendship. Nicole in turn introduced me to Niki Flow, the curator of the under1000skies.org website. I have been a privileged participant ever since.

Here is a video of Nicole introducing me to Niki. I am embarrassed to see this now. I truly did not know what a mess I was at the time.

Despite the fact that I have been aware of my substance disorder and co-occurring mental issues for years, I would always make a half-hearted effort and then after some great accomplishment, of which there were many, I would slip back into my old behaviors.

What I have learned from all of this, is that I need to actively seek support and coaching. I need to be very proactive in helping others. I do that now in my employment for Bayaud Enterprises. I am a site lead for RiNO, the River North improvement district. At Bayaud Enterprises we give people HOPE, Opportunity, and Choice, and help them to overcome ANY barrier with a plan of their own design. This created both validation and agency. Bayaudenterprises.org

The proudest achievement of my lifetime is being one of the key players who created the Healthy Food for Kids ballot initiative, a voter-approved fund which to date has distributed more than 66 million dollars to worthy grantees. What I am proudest of is the fact that I did this working 7 months for free as a volunteer, WHILE I WAS HOMELESS.

I now serve as a volunteer on the Community Advisory Board of SameCafe, soallmayeat.org, the pipeline committee of Metro Caring, the Community Advisory Board of the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine WORTH program, and on the Board of Directors of Stigma, a comprehensive nationwide recovery service and curriculum.

All of this is met to say, that all I have to do is “take another 24” and my GOD’s got me.

-John Olander