Originally Posted by
FreeOwl 
Here's another thing to consider; do you have conversations during the day, not in bars, every day all your life? Do you have friends, go to work, get coffee, talk to people in your life? Do you laugh and enjoy yourself - looking honestly back on your life - many hours of every week when you're NOT drinking?
This is one thing I realize. Even when I wasn't in recovery, many hours of every day are spent without alcohol. I have lots of 'evidence' in my life of fun times I've had and great time spent with others that didn't happen in bars or while consuming poison.
I think it's a great tool in recovery to look back, journal, reflect on the many joyful parts of our lives and the social parts of our lives that didn't involve being drunk.
The topic of 'partying' came up at a recent meeting and one woman said 'five year olds PARTY. They wear silly hats and they run around and play tag. They don't get drunk, they just celebrate JOY'
Hi Freeowl, that is a good point. I do have many references to fun had with people at work, during the day, on the weekend that does not revolve around alcohol actually. I don't know whether it's me or society that seems to have this message that drinking is 'fun' and we somehow need to drink and 'party' to have this 'fun'. Yet we conveniently forget that actually socialising on a regular basis .
I think I miss being a kid and having that sense of fun adventure,which is true joy. So maybe it's important to do things which give us a sense of childlike joy again?