Eight Months. Cheers!

*The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.-Warren Buffet

I am 8 months sober today. 

I am so grateful for learning and growth that comes with this choice. 

I am so hopeful for all the goodness and beauty on this path that is yet to be discovered.

With God’s help I am through reaching for more of what doesn’t work, what doesn’t help, and what doesn’t last.

I have all, and I mean ALL,  the emotions and I can handle them. 

I might handle them from the fetal position, but it still counts.

I can feel pain and I can feel bliss. 

I can identify boredom and how it ignites impulsivity.

I can sit with the pain of impermanence and sticky clinging of attachment and observe what happens when I call them by name.

Sure, I can’t tell anyone I love them without weeping. Its awkward but I now know its really the courage of vulnerability. 

Sure, I feel overwhelmed with compassion and bewildered by the cruelty of the human condition, occasionally to the point of nausea. 

Those feelings have a purpose and I refuse to run from them, hide from them, or try to tell them to shut up. 

My feelings are a part of me, and they are all worthy of love.

I am learning to welcome all of me home.

The sober life has so many gifts to offer.

Addictions are just habits that got grooved into our neural pathways through repeated practice.

The hope of humanity is that we now know these can be changed. We were designed with neuroplasticity and an endless opportunity to take the pathway less traveled. 

The current wine culture tells us that we will be isolated in our sobriety. 

Being left out hurts so badly.  It takes courage to face the fear of being judged as the stick in the mud, the buzzkill, the one nobody wants around in moments of joy and celebration. 

Sobriety teaches us that we don’t have to party when we ARE the party. 

Our joyful spirits can and will bring the energy of celebration to ordinary moments. But not if we’re drunk or hungover.

You only have to watch two drunks interacting to see that no real connection can occur in this state. This is why the Buddhists call the addicted, hungry ghosts. Not being able to get enough of what we don’t really need.

Your addictions cannot fill you if you’re not whole, and you cannot become whole with an addiction. 

Who knows exactly how and when habits turn into full on addictions. Lets not find out.

Lets just know our intentions, our purpose, our potential and our worth, and choose pursuits from the menu of self love.

Here’s to mindfully choosing what leads us to greater and sustained peace, enjoyment, and connection.

Here’s to sparkling water in a wine glass.

Cheers to finding authentic, healthy connections that fill our souls and quench our true thirst for grace, goodness, love and light. And so it is…