Soberlicious:
Yes, it is great that you walk your own path with your own two feet. What I have learned is that there are many paths, all with a common end. Often one hears, "You must take my path; there is no other!" ("And only I can lead you!") No, we must each seek out our own way, "with fear and trembling", as it is said. Achieving sobriety is a very dangerous business, considering the alternative. As with some other things, it is both complex and simple. An alcoholic counselor once told me a story about how to catch a monkey. To catch a monkey you need to put something the monkey wants in a jar with a narrow neck. The monkey will reach in and grasp what it wants and make a fist, holding on tight and, because of the fist, be unable to get its hand out of the jar. If the monkey only knew that all it had to do would be to let go, relax its fist and it could get rid of the jar it would be very simple to get away, but, wanting the thing, he keeps his fist tightly closed...
After the counselor had told me this little story, I kept my fist clenched for 34 more years. Occasionally I might relax, get my hand out of the jar but often I could not resist what was in the bottle and I would reach in again, grasp it and hold on for months, sometimes years at a time. So very simple, yet perhaps....
W.