THE SIMPLE LIFE (WRITTEN IN SEPTEMBER 1972

I'm having a love affair with life! It started when I left Donwood Institute over three years ago. I had faced my alcohol addiction and re-entered society in a sober and reasonable manner.

Now came discovery of the challenge of coping with life, and the bittersweet ups and downs that every human being is subjected to. No more alcohol anaesthetic to fog up reality and numb the senses. Freedom to choose my own path! The clarity of mind to make my own decisions as to where I'm going.

We moved to the country. King City, in fact. Where the air is clear, and the pace is slower. Quite an experience for a born and bred city boy to look out the back window and see our neighbour the farmer plowing his field. Dead quiet in the cool night. Who cares for succesS in the business world, the groping for material things, the second car, the fawning attention of the subordinate employees, the endless cocktail parties with the smoky, inane, boring conversations that are finished in ten minutes, only to be repeated over and over again.

Better the walk to the back fields to cut wood for the winter.

Better the garden to grow food to freeze for the winter.

Better the friends and neighbours over for coffee and simple conversations. Sounds old fashioned? Maybe they had something, back there, before the television and radio, corporate giants, the dishwasher, dryer, snowmobile. Life was simple, and basic, and uncomplicated. Less stress.

Sounds simple and lovely, doesn't it? There is a price however for the recovering alcoholic. That price is self control and self discipline. The facing of life head on. Accepting all its ups and downs without running to the bottle or pills. Every time we take a drink or pop a pill, we surrender to our weaknesses, and even if no one else knows, we know down deep in our soul that we have given up a little bit, and we are not facing life.

It is never too late for anyone to change, and get back to a simple and basic way of life. Where people replace the bottle. To where the most important thing is Love.

DON FELSTEAD

DON says: King City was a wonderful place to live, but it was only one step in our lives. We eventually moved to 16 acres in Orillia where we lived for many years, finally settling in Barrie, Ont., where we retired.