You don't owe alcohol a thing, you don't owe your old self a thing
 

You can break up with alcohol like the abusive ex that you know has been bad for you for so long.

You don't owe your old drunk self a thing either. This has been important to me in finally getting sober. I do not owe my old self a thing - the mistakes and shame, money loss, lies - that old self can take a hike. There's nothing wrong with a clean break, a cold hard break-up.

You don't have to let regret tie you to that old drunk self. You can leave him in his dark, curtain-drawn apartment, hiding from the world, ducking life.

You can even be gentle to that old drunk self. You can feel sadness for the pain he put himself through, the ways in which he floundered and fell. But you don't have to let that empathy tie you to him anymore.

You can walk away, for good, for the good in you and what you might be able to accomplish, big or small, with what sober life you have left.

I don't owe alcohol a thing. I don't owe my old, small, hurting drunk self a thing. It's a break-up I am proud of.

Thoughtful post, less.

I'd venture to say that, for me, the one thing I owe my old drunk self is gratitude for getting me to this place of recovery I live now. I keep that person in a small corner of my mind and know I will not return to being her.

I always enjoy your posts, Less. Thank you

That helped me thanks

I no longer have a good reason to procrastinate (to duck life, as you said).

But I still do sometimes; it's a troubling issue that needs to be rectified.

I can't blame it on the booze anymore.

I'm reading the Jungian analyst/author James Hollis. I really recommend him, especially to you DD.

In many ways the booze was just the easiest, most accepted means to avoid - and it's the avoidance and whence it derives, that we are truly tasked with resolving if we are going to overcome our Selves.

Really nice post.

I feel a lot of compassion for my old self. She put a lot of pressure on herself, was very isolated and very lonely, also too proud to open up and ask for help.

You're right. I'm really not that old self anymore though. I hadn't thought about it like that. The difference in how I feel compared to then is night and day.