It's Friday.... here's another list....
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 8,637
It's Friday.... here's another list....
This morning I'm hopping on a plane, headed off to a party / gathering for the weekend with some good old friends.
The booze will be flowing aplenty. I've spent the week reflecting, making lists, thinking, preparing, re-calibrating myself and putting that AV back in place.
I've survived 2 10-day stints in Vegas, a couple music festivals, several drunken BBQs, more than a few bars and countless dinners out with drinking friends in the past nearly-18 months; I will survive this and stay sober. I will have fun, I will be with old friends, I will enjoy myself. When the thoughts or emotions associated with a pang for drinking arise - I will go for a walk, or a surf, or just go to bed. I will observe the partying with a curiosity rather than a longing. I will look through the lens of my pals who still slam the booze as though it were water and I will study my own past through them - in a setting that I myself have put back more booze in my past than I care to remember. And I will wake up each day early and clear-headed, returning home to my family with my soul and my pride and my self intact and unblemished.
I'll do it because in the past year and a half;
I've felt healthy
I've been present
My life is joyful and memorable
I wake each morning with a positive outlook - even when I'm feeling a little low or blue or stressed
I've learned to have fun - even around alcohol - without alcohol
I am proud of my sobriety
I am LIVING my life, instead of just numbing it and waiting for it to end
I feel sobriety is a positive influence not just to me, but to my family, friends and the world around me
I am able to be there for others, not just for myself, wrapped up in my own twisted thinking
My THINKING is different; it's better, it's clearer, it's pure
I FEEL BETTER - physically, emotionally, spiritually
I will be able to surf each morning, instead of suffering in misery, nauseated and ill in the lineup.
I will be able to surf each evening, instead of blowing it off because I'm too drunk or I'm all buzzed up and thinking that I'm having SO MUCH FUN standing around drinking that surfing is just a hassle.
I will be able to surf each session strong, and make each wave count, and feel the joy and the bliss and the freedom of the sea without the filter of alcohol hazing my experience.
I will feel honorable - because I am honoring myself.
I will be able to remember the whole experience.
I will learn more - about myself, about my own past, about what my experiences may really have been like all along.
I will gain evidence and further affirmation - armor in my sobriety. I will grow as a Peaceful, Sober Warrior. I will learn new techniques for keeping my sober life safe.
Perhaps in my example, I may be blessed to carry the message to another who still suffers.... my friends, some of whom I KNOW secretly feel trapped in their own lives of addiction.
And, I will come back and share with you my gratitude for all of you, for this place, for this community who has helped me along this journey of growth and love and sobriety.
Happy Friday.
The booze will be flowing aplenty. I've spent the week reflecting, making lists, thinking, preparing, re-calibrating myself and putting that AV back in place.
I've survived 2 10-day stints in Vegas, a couple music festivals, several drunken BBQs, more than a few bars and countless dinners out with drinking friends in the past nearly-18 months; I will survive this and stay sober. I will have fun, I will be with old friends, I will enjoy myself. When the thoughts or emotions associated with a pang for drinking arise - I will go for a walk, or a surf, or just go to bed. I will observe the partying with a curiosity rather than a longing. I will look through the lens of my pals who still slam the booze as though it were water and I will study my own past through them - in a setting that I myself have put back more booze in my past than I care to remember. And I will wake up each day early and clear-headed, returning home to my family with my soul and my pride and my self intact and unblemished.
I'll do it because in the past year and a half;
I've felt healthy
I've been present
My life is joyful and memorable
I wake each morning with a positive outlook - even when I'm feeling a little low or blue or stressed
I've learned to have fun - even around alcohol - without alcohol
I am proud of my sobriety
I am LIVING my life, instead of just numbing it and waiting for it to end
I feel sobriety is a positive influence not just to me, but to my family, friends and the world around me
I am able to be there for others, not just for myself, wrapped up in my own twisted thinking
My THINKING is different; it's better, it's clearer, it's pure
I FEEL BETTER - physically, emotionally, spiritually
I will be able to surf each morning, instead of suffering in misery, nauseated and ill in the lineup.
I will be able to surf each evening, instead of blowing it off because I'm too drunk or I'm all buzzed up and thinking that I'm having SO MUCH FUN standing around drinking that surfing is just a hassle.
I will be able to surf each session strong, and make each wave count, and feel the joy and the bliss and the freedom of the sea without the filter of alcohol hazing my experience.
I will feel honorable - because I am honoring myself.
I will be able to remember the whole experience.
I will learn more - about myself, about my own past, about what my experiences may really have been like all along.
I will gain evidence and further affirmation - armor in my sobriety. I will grow as a Peaceful, Sober Warrior. I will learn new techniques for keeping my sober life safe.
Perhaps in my example, I may be blessed to carry the message to another who still suffers.... my friends, some of whom I KNOW secretly feel trapped in their own lives of addiction.
And, I will come back and share with you my gratitude for all of you, for this place, for this community who has helped me along this journey of growth and love and sobriety.
Happy Friday.
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 10,962
Sounds like this will be a memorable time. Good luck. This is doable, and you are going fully "armed" so to speak.
But I understand your concern. I will be heading to Vermont, where family still lives and where my parents are buried, in August, and there are a number of potential pitfalls. I'll try to prepare, as you have.
But I understand your concern. I will be heading to Vermont, where family still lives and where my parents are buried, in August, and there are a number of potential pitfalls. I'll try to prepare, as you have.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 8,637
Originally Posted by biminiblue 
That was a really beautiful post, FreeOwl. Enjoy the beauty of God's creation in the ocean and the sand. Sounds so wonderful! Beach food - you didn't mention beach food!
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 25,373
You are so incredibly blessed. I would love a weekend in Baja. I don't care if tequila flowed from the faucets, I'd have a great time - and I know you will. Sunrises and sunsets there are amazing! Maybe you'll see a whale!
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