4 months, wow
So I just passed 4 months yesterday. My sober counter on my phone has me at 4 months and a day today. I've never been this sober in my life.
It was a long, long time coming. So many people to thank here on SR. From the ever-present and, in my opinion, omnipotent and all-knowing moderators, to the people like myself, who came and went for years - I signed up 5 years ago, (for anyone who struggling today, this sober life can be achieved by all of any and all of us.), to the people who came and went (I so much hope certain people found the peace they we're looking for) - SR has been The Thing that aided, educated and fortified my path to permanent sobriety.
It was only 6 months ago that I was posting on this website about drinking at work. Like many, I had given in to the demons of my addiction, and I was heading down a path that could only end in pain and misery and suffering and regret. But like many others on this website and elsewhere in the world I was able to right my ship. There are so many different ways to get sober. I am not an AA'er, though I respect and have been informed by many of its principles. What I am is completely and permanently sober. The thing is sobriety truly takes work. It takes sacrifice, discipline, it's not easy. But like anything worth doing in life, the dividends that it pays are remarkable. I have a sense of peace that I have never known in my adult life. I cherish that place, that sense of choosing the right thing, the peace and undivided self that comes with finally growing up.
The thing is about life is that suffering is built-in, suffering is inevitable. We all know that. What is not guaranteed is that you have the peace and strength and calm and wisdom to deal with the sufferings that life sends your way. Only sobriety can you give us the tools to deal with life. And, of course, another of the greatest things that sobriety also gives is the chance at true happiness. Not the fleeting, self-destructive, fake happiness that I used to feel sucking on the bottle - instead I mean the kind of whole-self happiness that comes from the ability to try to find meaning in your life. Long-winded, a bit High minded maybe, but I'm so thankful to be 4 months sober today. My life is finally mine. Which means of that I can use my life to give to my family, to my community, and to my Self. Thank you SR, I could have never achieved this without you.