Hodd

I drive a 13-year-old Volkswagen with nearly 200000 miles on the clock. It’s mechanically perfect, but if I scrape it whilst parking, I don’t really care. If I ever buy a brand new car (unlikely), I’d be the most careful driver on the road. If anyone scratched my car, there’d be trouble, and if I scratched it, I’d be livid as I know I’d care that little bit less about my once new car, and once again I’d start scratching it.

I admire people who look after an older car. Any scratches get repaired, and the driver will be more careful in the first place. They’ve not got to my stage of not really caring.

To be honest, who cares about cars? But for me, sobriety should be like a precious new car that must never be scratched. You shouldn’t take any risks. Too many people throw away their sobriety too easily and then don’t care so much the next time and the next.

Cars are a poor analogy as they’re so unimportant and not interesting. Our lives are way more important so I don’t get why people gamble with their sobriety often repeatedly.

Anna

People gamble with their sobriety, often repeatedly because they are alcoholics. There is no logic involved.

lessgravity

I've found that I had to treat my sobriety like a precious jewel in my early sobriety but as time has passed it has become more like an off-road jeep that I am riding in that takes me wherever I might want to go.

Hodd

Interesting. My sobriety’s like a shiny new special edition gold-plated Bentley, but more valuable.