Sunday, December 30, 2018

Breaking Chains (168 Days)



"The best flights are taken only after you have the courage to break away from the chains that bind you. You can't touch the sky if you can't get out of your comfort zone."  -Sulekha Pande

I gave up coffee years ago as part of a 10-day fad cleanse. I lost 10 pounds and felt great, but also lost my desire to drink coffee in the mornings. So I switched to a vitamin/energy drink called Spark for my morning caffeine. I eventually switched to green tea, which seems to suit me well. I prefer a cold, icy drink in the morning, and the green tea tastes and feels very light and clean... the perfect start to my day.

What's my point? Well, it didn't take me long at all... really maybe just a few months after that cleanse that I remember thinking how my brain turned off all desire and craving for coffee. It was just something I used to drink, something I didn't care for anymore... Something I drank and now I don't.

THIS IS HOW I FEEL ABOUT ALCOHOL NOW.

I have not changed my social life one bit since stopping alcohol on 7/16/18. I still have long lunches and dinners out with my friends. I still attend social events, happy hour, and outings with buddies. I hosted Thanksgiving dinner,  as well as a Christmas party that has gotten really outrageous in past years. I go to the movies and hike and shop, and I'm not nervous of any single event on my calendar for 2019. People can be as drunk or sober as they wish around me. I'm not affected. I'm not having an internal crisis. Alcohol is something I used to drink and now I don't. It really is that simple.

In the past, alcohol was soaked into every fiber of my life and body... as a whole, I was a big sponge, saturated in alcohol. It's surprising and wonderful that the idea of it now has no place in my body or mind. I was already on this road a few months ago, but then I read Jason Vale's book "Kick the Drink... Easily!" and his words laid cement for the path I walk. It was unbelievably eye-opening. We are all desperately gullible and clueless about alcohol! He shatters the preconceived, socially-acceptable ideas about drinking. One reviewer comments "this book exposes a scam of gigantic proportions... and gives the power back to the individual." We have truly been scammed. And I'm so glad I read the book and am free from alcohol addiction.

I'm not in recovery. I'm recovered. I have no plan or desire to sit in a room and have discussions about how today without alcohol was hard or easy. I don't need to find ways to keep my mind off alcohol. I am DONE. Washed my hands of it. Moved on. Not sorry. Not sad. Not wallowing in misery at the idea of never drinking again.

And now, I'm going to curl up with my iPad to watch Netflix with a large glass of sparkling water. Maybe as an extra treat, I'll add a splash of orange juice or lemonade... or maybe not. But the thought won't enter my mind to be upset about what's in the glass. I look forward to whatever flavor I pour. And I'll pour it and move on... to my book or to a Netflix binge or my kids or my alone time on the patio. I'll move on in my LIFE! I am awake, alert, and content, and alcohol is not on my brain.

Alcohol is something I used to drink and now I don't. It really is that simple.

- Penny

p.s. As a reminder to myself, here are the numbers associated with 168 days:
       $1,000 not spent
       84,000 calories not consumed