# @chefaz on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/C2ptcE-rRym
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/10845352-chefaz-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/801ed7ec8d.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-01-28T17:06:40.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Andrew Zimmern (@chefaz) — https://gondola.cc/chefaz

## Caption

Grateful to be alive. I guess on some level it’s that simple because before I got sober I should have been dead many times including once wanting to be and acting on it. But here I am. I’ve learned that MORE importantly after all these years of living with a goal of doing the best i can, that it’s gratitude for being taught to do things to make a difference for someone else that matters most. Living a life based on self never worked for me. Living a life that instructs me to take the last bite of the pie and not the first always works when I remember it. Sometimes I forget, and I make mistakes that always put me in a position to hurt someone or be hurt. And that’s where all of you come in. Everything I’ve ever learned comes from someone else. I’ve never had a stroke of genius and acted on it. My friends my family my community and strangers, authors, teachers, parents everyone I’ve ever come across even those I’ve never met have taught me how to live a life that matters. Being a dad has taught me the most valuable lessons in my life. I owe my son a debt I can never repay. True patience, tolerance and understanding came to me through parenting as best I could.
Our choices are simple… live a life where the goal is a bright shiny object or live a life where the goal is other-centeredness. When I ask what I can bring rather than what I can take is when incredible things materialize for me in my life. I am so blessed to be sober today. This day. To my sober friends, and you all know who you are, thank you for carrying me when I didn’t want to walk. I love being incomplete and truly believe the best years of my life are still to come. That’s a pretty fucking cool feeling. #gratitude #32years #stillworkingonit

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 10,604
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- **Comments:** 542

## Tags

stillworkingonit, 32years, gratitude

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