Dedication to beating alcohol this time.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 174
Dedication to beating alcohol this time.
Sooo I'm 8 days sober today and yesterday I made the drastic step of tattooing my intent of lifetime sobriety on my leg. Madness probably (definitely) but man it felt good :P
It's done like the guys tat in memento, i.e. it faces me so I can read it!
Forgive the horribleness of my leg, but yeah, just wanted to share :wtf2
Oh and btw it's not really supposed to look nice incase you're thinking I've ruined my body or something, but rather be a big time black and white reminder for me in a few weeks/months/years of what I realised on that date; i.e. I am an alcoholic and I can never drink again.
It's done like the guys tat in memento, i.e. it faces me so I can read it!
Forgive the horribleness of my leg, but yeah, just wanted to share :wtf2
Oh and btw it's not really supposed to look nice incase you're thinking I've ruined my body or something, but rather be a big time black and white reminder for me in a few weeks/months/years of what I realised on that date; i.e. I am an alcoholic and I can never drink again.
Don't resist, allow
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: South East of England
Posts: 1,521
I am glad you are going to AA. Working the 12 Step program removed my obsession to drink alcohol.
It can remove yours too and that date will be the only date you will have to tattoo on your body.
It can remove yours too and that date will be the only date you will have to tattoo on your body.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 174
Originally Posted by intention 
I am glad you are going to AA. Working the 12 Step program removed my obsession to drink alcohol.
It can remove yours too and that date will be the only date you will have to tattoo on your body.
It can remove yours too and that date will be the only date you will have to tattoo on your body.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 4,682
Good man! I like that tattoo then...i had one done last year on my belly it says in big letters PROGRESS 09 i was either going to get sober or that was it for me...
Going to AA, getting a sponsor, working the steps and getting my spiritual awakening got me sober and the close contact with my Higher Power keeps me sober.
I was able to do the above because i was a drowning man and AA was the very last life ring in the water, i was willing to do anything that my sponsor told me...i joke sometimes that it is lucky AA is not a cult as i would have done anything to get sober, but seriously i would have done anything at all...much like a dead man walking i had nothing at all to lose...
Funny thing is 4 weeks after walking in the doors i was then working to not lose everything i still had in my life, what a switch and i remember saying when is this spiritual awakening thing gonna happen?! If i had been there i would have said mate you've had it you just don't realise it yet;-)
Go for it man, this is no time for thinking or analysing it's action time right now!
Going to AA, getting a sponsor, working the steps and getting my spiritual awakening got me sober and the close contact with my Higher Power keeps me sober.
I was able to do the above because i was a drowning man and AA was the very last life ring in the water, i was willing to do anything that my sponsor told me...i joke sometimes that it is lucky AA is not a cult as i would have done anything to get sober, but seriously i would have done anything at all...much like a dead man walking i had nothing at all to lose...
Funny thing is 4 weeks after walking in the doors i was then working to not lose everything i still had in my life, what a switch and i remember saying when is this spiritual awakening thing gonna happen?! If i had been there i would have said mate you've had it you just don't realise it yet;-)
Go for it man, this is no time for thinking or analysing it's action time right now!
Nonexistent Willpower
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 439
Originally Posted by Ronan
But life's not about that, it's about having the balls to deal with whatever comes at me without some drunken crutch.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 174
Well, 3 weeks into sobriety now 
The other day I was on a bus home from the city and I saw an add for a music festival I went to in my youth that's sponsored by Heineken. I thought about how if I attend gigs in future I'll be sober and that's something I've never really done before and it kinda scared me. I thought "But......am I REALLY an alcoholic?" for a split second, then I thought "OF COURSE you're a ******* alcoholic you have "do not drink" tattoo'd on your leg!!!".
So yeah things are going great at the moment, I'm eating well, waking up early every morning with a smile on my face. I've started job hunting for the first time in a year and I'm enjoying life immensely - I should say my second life thanks to my higher power. It's rare that I'm thinking about what I'm 'missing out on' by not drinking. In fact I'm thinking about what I actually missed out on by drinking.
The opportunities are endless. I have a chance to actually live a life worth living. To not just 'exist' in a drunken haze and watch the days fly by while my life goes down the tubes.
I'm extremely thankful for this hand I've been dealt. I've won the lottery that an awful lot of alcoholics will never win. Thanks to SR, AA, my beautiful friends and family and all the love that's been unconditionally shown to me. I thought I wasn't asking for help but I guess looking back I was screaming out for help subconsciously. It's this love that helps me throughout the day and in time I hope to be able to share some love and help some people unconditionally too. We're all in this boat together and the only thing keeping us afloat is the love and compassion we show each other.
I sound like such a hippy, but what can you do
The other day I was on a bus home from the city and I saw an add for a music festival I went to in my youth that's sponsored by Heineken. I thought about how if I attend gigs in future I'll be sober and that's something I've never really done before and it kinda scared me. I thought "But......am I REALLY an alcoholic?" for a split second, then I thought "OF COURSE you're a ******* alcoholic you have "do not drink" tattoo'd on your leg!!!".
So yeah things are going great at the moment, I'm eating well, waking up early every morning with a smile on my face. I've started job hunting for the first time in a year and I'm enjoying life immensely - I should say my second life thanks to my higher power. It's rare that I'm thinking about what I'm 'missing out on' by not drinking. In fact I'm thinking about what I actually missed out on by drinking.
The opportunities are endless. I have a chance to actually live a life worth living. To not just 'exist' in a drunken haze and watch the days fly by while my life goes down the tubes.
I'm extremely thankful for this hand I've been dealt. I've won the lottery that an awful lot of alcoholics will never win. Thanks to SR, AA, my beautiful friends and family and all the love that's been unconditionally shown to me. I thought I wasn't asking for help but I guess looking back I was screaming out for help subconsciously. It's this love that helps me throughout the day and in time I hope to be able to share some love and help some people unconditionally too. We're all in this boat together and the only thing keeping us afloat is the love and compassion we show each other.
I sound like such a hippy, but what can you do
Community Greeter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 51,569
Ronan, I appreciate all the observations you've made & agree with these things especially: Life's about dealing with whatever comes without numbing ourselves. When sober, we have a chance to experience our lives, not just exist in a drunken haze. (Or as I like to say, not just 'phone it in' 
Thanks for the uplifting posts, and I'm thankful you are doing so well.
Thanks for the uplifting posts, and I'm thankful you are doing so well.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Brussels (from Ireland)
Posts: 221
Originally Posted by Ronan
I have a chance to actually live a life worth living. To not just 'exist' in a drunken haze and watch the days fly by while my life goes down the tubes.
Heading towards day 90 this week and heading home this Saturday (can't wait!) - though had a particularly tricky weekend: went for dinner with friends on Sat night - one of the girls is a very heavy drinker and used to be a real 'drinking buddy' when we're together. I think she was disappointed that I wasn't drinking and ended up sharing a bottle of wine with one of the others instead of the usual 'few bottles' + champagne + spirits. It felt great getting up Sunday morning with no hangover for once! Then we had an event + lunch with my boss and direct colleagues & partners on the Sunday morning! I would usually need to drink at these things to 'get me through it' but was grand with my diet coke!
Hope all's going well with the job hunting - take good care of yourself and t2ul8r,
Almath
Wow - way to go!
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