A stressful morning
It’s not even 10 am and I’ve already had a bunch of crappy things happen, both personal and work. I’ll spare the details, but two years ago I would have opened a bottle of wine (yes, in the morning. 5 o’clock somewhere, right)? Instead of doing that, I checked in here, I read some daily inspiration on some apps I use, and I took a break to go for a walk. I am proud of how far I’ve come. It wasnot much of a struggle for me to not pick up alcohol. My new patterns of coping are becoming more automatic. I read something in my news feed from an author I subscribe to, Rick Hanson. He has written books on Buddhism, neuroscience and happiness. His message in my inbox was “Enjoy Sobriety”. He wasn’t referring to alcohol per se, though that does come into play of course. He was referring to “healthy self control, a centered enjoyment of life and a freedom from drivenness”, relating sobriety to not just our typical addictions like alcohol, food, sex, drugs, but to being over controlling or over working and other things. I really needed to read this today. Thanks for listening.