Even if you CAN - WHY?
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 8,637
Even if you CAN - WHY?
When you find yourself asking if maybe you CAN find a way to drink 'safely' and moderate....
Ask yourself BUT WHY.
I have three children and another on the way.
They don't drink.
They are joyous and happy and live life to the full.
I haven't had a drink in three years.
I am joyous and happy and live life to the full. I can't think of anything of value to me that I've missed out on because of not drinking.
You yourself once lived without drinking. Think back. Way back. Did you have fun? Did you love? Did you laugh and experience and run wild and free just relishing the taset of life?
Oh, sure.... there's all the arguments about how great it is to just 'kick back and relax and enjoy a few drinks with everyone else'.
It's all rubbish. It's all nonsense. It's all an illusion. All these people just 'enjoying a few drinks' of toxic liquid. To what real and meaningful end?
I'm telling you right now - all of the things you tell yourself you're missing out on by not drinking are a giant load of baloney. Not only that, but every single shred of 'value' you might believe you could get out of a glass of alcohol is also a giant load of baloney.
Cutting right to the chase - even if you COULD - it would really be pointless and valueless.
So instead of obsessing over the ways you might be able to drink normally....
Try obsessing for a week over all the things you might cherish in this life INSTEAD of drinking normally.
Ask yourself BUT WHY.
I have three children and another on the way.
They don't drink.
They are joyous and happy and live life to the full.
I haven't had a drink in three years.
I am joyous and happy and live life to the full. I can't think of anything of value to me that I've missed out on because of not drinking.
You yourself once lived without drinking. Think back. Way back. Did you have fun? Did you love? Did you laugh and experience and run wild and free just relishing the taset of life?
Oh, sure.... there's all the arguments about how great it is to just 'kick back and relax and enjoy a few drinks with everyone else'.
It's all rubbish. It's all nonsense. It's all an illusion. All these people just 'enjoying a few drinks' of toxic liquid. To what real and meaningful end?
I'm telling you right now - all of the things you tell yourself you're missing out on by not drinking are a giant load of baloney. Not only that, but every single shred of 'value' you might believe you could get out of a glass of alcohol is also a giant load of baloney.
Cutting right to the chase - even if you COULD - it would really be pointless and valueless.
So instead of obsessing over the ways you might be able to drink normally....
Try obsessing for a week over all the things you might cherish in this life INSTEAD of drinking normally.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 252
Great post.
In early recovery we are afraid that we might be losing something, that life will be empty without alcohol, but that is the AV talking.
Yes, I once lived without drinking, and I had fun and read books and watched movies and wrote and sewed, and loved, and I had a lot of plans. Am on the way back to that now.
In early recovery we are afraid that we might be losing something, that life will be empty without alcohol, but that is the AV talking.
Yes, I once lived without drinking, and I had fun and read books and watched movies and wrote and sewed, and loved, and I had a lot of plans. Am on the way back to that now.
Giving up is NOT an option.
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 7,808
In my very early days of sobriety, I was kind of sad and pi**ed that I couldn't be a normal drinker. Spent a bunch of time thinking "poor me. I'm going to have a boring life now with no friends."
But as the days and weeks went by, I became thankful that I never have to drink again. Sure - I could decide right now to go out and drink. But I don't, because I have discovered such peace and self-acceptance sober.
Why in the world would I jeopardize that? Why would I go back to having people not trust me, seeing me as the drunk girl who doesn't follow through on promises and doesn't remember conversations? Why would I go back to risking my life and the lives of others driving drunk? Why would I go back to wasting SO MUCH time and money? EVEN IF I could moderate and only drink a couple times a week or whatever, there would still be negative consequences. Nothing good could possibly come of me drinking again, but plenty of bad could. So I choose sobriety.
But as the days and weeks went by, I became thankful that I never have to drink again. Sure - I could decide right now to go out and drink. But I don't, because I have discovered such peace and self-acceptance sober.
Why in the world would I jeopardize that? Why would I go back to having people not trust me, seeing me as the drunk girl who doesn't follow through on promises and doesn't remember conversations? Why would I go back to risking my life and the lives of others driving drunk? Why would I go back to wasting SO MUCH time and money? EVEN IF I could moderate and only drink a couple times a week or whatever, there would still be negative consequences. Nothing good could possibly come of me drinking again, but plenty of bad could. So I choose sobriety.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: MN
Posts: 8,704
Very good post, and I concur. I can drink any time I want to. I've even given it some considerable thought once or twice, but when it came right down to it, what do I have to gain? Nothing. There is no point in it. I didn't used to feel that way.
Hears The Voice
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Unshackled
Posts: 7,901
Originally Posted by FreeOwl 
It's all nonsense.
But you've posed a question that I think is very important. When I knew it was a problem, when I knew I might be risking everything - I still wanted to drink. Why?
I don't like the answer to that question, but it's the answer that keeps me grounded in reality.
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 2,950
There are plenty of reasons why, we aren't gonna sit here and fool ourselves in to believing we never enjoyed drinking alcohol, we did.. Point is, we got to the place where the reasons not to outnumbered the reasons to do it.
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