Chop wood, carry water
We all chop wood. We all carry water. In its most simplest form we all do.
But we don't live in a world with notions that big that can sustain us. We all must look at things more closely.
If you are not happy with the wood you chop, stop chopping and carve. Create something from that block.
If you only carry the water to cook or bath yourself then perhaps carry water for someone else who cannot carry their own. Teach them to cook with it. Make sure they bath.
I chop and carry for many reasons other than the bare necessities. Yes we all do the same things and in our sameness we find our differences. Thats what I find beautiful about SR. I am here with people around the globe and to my surprise when I first got here we are very much the same. We drink and that has destroyed much. But in that I have learned so much from our differences as well.
K
But we don't live in a world with notions that big that can sustain us. We all must look at things more closely.
If you are not happy with the wood you chop, stop chopping and carve. Create something from that block.
If you only carry the water to cook or bath yourself then perhaps carry water for someone else who cannot carry their own. Teach them to cook with it. Make sure they bath.
I chop and carry for many reasons other than the bare necessities. Yes we all do the same things and in our sameness we find our differences. Thats what I find beautiful about SR. I am here with people around the globe and to my surprise when I first got here we are very much the same. We drink and that has destroyed much. But in that I have learned so much from our differences as well.
K
Fast forward to today. Now I'm sober! Hooray! I get a new lease on life. And what is that life now? Exactly as it was before the drinking; chopping wood, carrying water. No real joy, no real feeling of daily happiness. Just going through the motions. Work to pay bills so I can go to work.
Anyone relate? Anyone climb to the other side? If so, what worked for you?
Anyone relate? Anyone climb to the other side? If so, what worked for you?
You said
Then came the interlude of drinking, which did give me happiness until it turned on me
Daily happiness is what we find inside our (sober) selves. The saying to "stop and smell the roses" is true, just as happiness coming from within ourselves is true.
I can chop wood with a blunt axe and a distracted mind and know nothing but frustration or I can oil my axe, focus on the log below me and watch the blade slice through years of forest growth, release untold scents, prepare it to dry out for a season, then burn it for winter warmth. I can chop wood just to watch the splinters fly, I can chop wood simply because it's good honest work.
But most of all, I CAN chop wood. I can't chop wood when I'm drunk.
I can also carry water because I have a vessel to carry it in, I have the water available at the source, I can take it wherever I need it and slake my thirst. Which I could never do before.
Did I climb out the other side? You betcha.
I can chop wood and carry water, the forest didn't die and the river didn't dry up.
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Dallas, Texas
Posts: 2,459
Bmac - You are the same person you were before you drank. So now that you are sober, you're facing those same existential questions as before. Drinking did not solve them... just covered them up.
Joy in one's life. What we all seek and it is highly personal. Finding meaning did it for me. When I was drinking, I couldn't care less about anything. Someone asked me my philosophy at that time and I just said I am just taking up space and waiting to die.
How to find meaning? Again... highly personal. Religion? Philosophy? Family? Work? I dunno what works for you. I hope you find it tho. Feeling you just exist is miserable.
Joy in one's life. What we all seek and it is highly personal. Finding meaning did it for me. When I was drinking, I couldn't care less about anything. Someone asked me my philosophy at that time and I just said I am just taking up space and waiting to die.
How to find meaning? Again... highly personal. Religion? Philosophy? Family? Work? I dunno what works for you. I hope you find it tho. Feeling you just exist is miserable.
BMac, I totally understand, that is where I am at just now after 2 months. Boredom takes over and then I go back to square one. I need to think about what I want to get out of this now as well as sobriety.
Going to work is the highlight of my day....what's that tell you about my social life? But I isolated horribly when drinking so I can't say I am any more bored now just more aware of it. The ex got all the friends even the ones I brought into the relationship. I think a lot of people don't know what to do with non drinkers.
Recently, I reached out to a few new people, hoping to make new friendships... they came into my life like a tornado and threatened my peace, so they got the boot... that brief amount of chaos showed me that new, exciting & different can also be synonymous with drama, instability & imbalance...
This week, now that the dust has settled and I re-inforced my castle, I am quite content to "chop wood, carry water"...
Well said. Drinking doesn't allow you to address those existential issues, it just allows you to kick the can down the road. Eventually we all run out of road.
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