Tag Archives: addiction

Episode 22: Random Act of Kindness

La’ve JacksonI used to think the world was an ugly place, that people were cruel and life was a long and lonely road to hell. That was until the day I met my late teacher. He kindly took his precious time to listen to my sorrows and gave me some wonderful advice that changed my life forever. Through his small act of kindness he helped me restore my faith in humanity and gave me hope for a better future.

It’s very important to always keep in mind the positive parts of life. And there is no better example of the goodness in our world than random acts of kindness performed by complete strangers.

Kindness is contagious. Never underestimate the impact of a single, simple act. All it takes is your willingness to reach out and help those less fortunate than you.

La’ve Jackson is a homeless man from Dallas. He spent most of his life living on the streets because of poor choices that lead him to drug and alcohol addictions.

After a lifetime of struggle he finally pulled himself together and has remained sober for the last nine months. He spends most of his days on the streets selling STREETZine, a street paper. One day, by a chance encounter he met a group of kind strangers from North Dallas Firewalkers. They came together, took him off the street, got him a VIP ticket to a powerful seminar and then raised funds through gofundme to help him get his own place. La’ve is now determined to stay off drugs and working hard to get his counselling license and make something out of his life. All thanks to those strangers’ kindness.

Resources and Links:
Music Credits

Intro: Don’t Hold Back (Grow and Soar) by KOÄN
2010 – Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)

Episode 20: Overcoming Addiction

Natalie Calkins Rountree
Are you or a loved one struggling with addiction?

When someone suffers from drugs or alcohol addiction their entire family is paying for that terrible choice. Addiction brings about serious damage to families and to relationships. Those who take drugs can experience deadly consequences such as overdoses, crime, traffic accidents, violence and suicide. Children of alcoholic parents are at high risk of mental, physical and sexual abuse. They also suffer from low self esteem, loneliness and fear of abandonment. Sadly, I am one of those children…

In this episode I’m talking to an incredibly intelligent and beautiful lady, Natalie Calkins Rountree, who was kind enough to share with us her epic battle with alcohol addiction and her journey to recovery. Natalie came from a good background but, due to some poor choices, she became addicted to alcohol early on. She lost her self worth, dignity, the custody of her young daughter and almost took her own life. After a 15 years battle with alcoholism she had finally kicked the habit and has been sober for almost a decade. She rebuilt her life, got her daughter back, she’s happily married and has a very successful career.

Resources and Links:
Music Credits

Intro: Don’t Hold Back (Grow and Soar) by KOÄN
2010 – Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)