Originally Posted by determined99

Happy halloween kids! Wicked cold I have, but gonna coffee myself up, hit the gym and sauna and go to my sons halloween event at school. Trick or treat tonight! I will be dressing up as batman to go with. Last year I was kind of ripped and was over it by the second house as I wanted to get back home for a beer. So great to be positive, patient, fun and there for him. Alcohol is truly not your friend. Just consider for a second how many ways it hold you and your family in a cage..

Captain and anyone struggling, pause to reflect on the person you really want to become. Go back and read your first post. Don't let things go as far as before, cut the AV off today and say enough. Just that, enough. Let it go, drop it. Just let it be, get it out of your life.

Had a coworker make a comment yesterday that I had to pause and work through. Talk was about a Christmas party plan. Late lunch and a bar. I said, just joking as we are friends, "sounds awesome for a non drinking vegan like me!" They said, you are really not gonna have a beer for the rest of your life? I said, looks that way. They said, how boring, I can't believe you don't want to have a few beers with everyone. I walked back to my office and looked out the window, reflected and read SR. I pictured the party, how the few beers would feel. How then, the buzz would hit my head. Conversation would flow, then fuzzy confusion, wanting to go to the next bar. Calculating if I should drive. Doing it anyway. Now, I have this beer buzz in my car, heading home to my family. Being numb and slow, buying some on way home. Trying to keep the buzz while changing and then watching tv. Passing out. Waking up and saying, boy that was fun...

It took me a few minutes, actually quite a few minutes to shut the AV down and get back to my strong sober place. To truly rationalize my choice. And it is a choice. What do we want to stand for? I had a bit of a revolution in that I am gradually being firmly committed to not doing, participating or promoting things that glorify base, or negative human qualities. These include drinking poison that our society promotes and big industry lies to us about, being kind to animals, refusing greed, refusing to gossip, and not taking the easy way out when given two choices.

I am willing to be socially awkward and let people talk about me. I know that, no matter what they say, my lifestyle choice will make them think.

Sober is the new hipster cool.