Sixteen days so far, with only
twenty seven more to go until
Holy Saturday. Not my first
attempt to give up joy juice,
this year is different. That's
because along with omitting
alcohol, I also eliminated
an even more toxic poison.
Giving up booze that is. Initially
I truly missed my "occasional"
cocktail. Even more so, my
nightly bottle of Cabernet. Post
Shrove Tuesday I was hard to
live with. But slowly, day by
day I made it over the hump!
All of a sudden I feel remarkably
better. I've lost some weight and my
belly is slowly receding. What is most
amazing is that this is not just due to
the elimination of alcohol alone.
The fact is stress drove me to drink.
It was toxic, and overwhelmed me.
Since I "retired", all of the tension
and pressure simply went away.
And that my dear friends, is what
I consider the ultimate detox!
My job was killing me.
Physically and mentally.
Work consumed my life. And that focus never ended. Starting early with e-mails from the bathroom, at least twelve hours in the office, and ending at home with e-mails and a bottle of vin rouge at my side.
Suddenly I was woken from my
stupor by a dear friend. Shortly
thereafter, it all just ended.
And unlike alcohol, I had no
adverse reactions. That weight
on my shoulders disappeared.
And since then, all thoughts of
those things that once seemed
so oppressively important.
My life has completely changed.
Hopefully I've learned a valuable
lesson the past four months.
Therefore it seems that the least
I can do was give something back
in return. This year, not indulging
in my favorite beverages for forty
days and nights, is just that.
Not only is it healthy, it's cleared
my head and helped me make
decisions for the better.
Longer than just Lent, since late
October I've been going through
a period of purification. At this
point I think I've figured out
most of the "whys". I've also
healed and restored. Soon I'll
be ready to consider "next".
Let's drink to that!
