This is the last of five posts on simple facts about alcohol. The kind of facts most people don’t realize.
In this series we looked at how alcohol is addictive to human beings. We noted how the terms alcoholic and alcoholism are no longer recognized medically, and asked key questions, here and here.
This week, I want to talk about how one of two things happens when we see clearly that alcohol isn’t making our life better:
- Sometimes we drink more because the realization that alcohol is part of the problem, not the solution, is a painful thing to face.
- Sometimes we say enough and dig in to work toward our best life. But I wouldn’t call it work. I’d call it the trip (and the gift) of a lifetime.
Annie Grace of This Naked Mind describes the sequence to a tee: Over-drinking and thinking alcohol is part of the solution = ASLEEP. Over-drinking and knowing it’s a problem = AWARE. Knowledge about the substance and our behavior = AWAKE. Freedom from thinking about alcohol = ALIVE.
ASLEEP—> AWARE—> AWAKE—> ALIVE
Alive: having life; living; existing; not dead or lifeless.
You can be alive, fully alive. Know this, until you believe this. I’m here for you, wherever you are on the Path.
