During those bygone foggy times, whenever the thought of sobriety crossed my mind, I immediately went to all the things I’d lose when I gave up pot and alcohol. I’ve even had a recovering friend describe his experiencing giving up alcohol as “losing my best friend”.
Our V.P. of Sales Operations joked, “It’s five o’clock somewhere!” (It was 11am for Tim and me). Another V.P. joked that he’d hold our boss responsible if he couldn’t make it through the rest of his afternoon meetings as he sipped on what appeared to be a neat whiskey.
Sure, I had read articles about how meditation slowed brain aging, calmed anxiety, and helped those who practiced it to be more mindful, grateful, and present, but was it for me? Could it help me with my gray area drinking problem? That’s what I really wanted to know. If it could do that, anything else it provided would be a bonus.
I wasn’t 100% sure I was going to be able to make it through last night’s holiday potluck sober. But I was determined to try. My first tactic was to sit down next to John, the only other person in this group who I know doesn’t drink.
And as I thought about it, I realized that he hadn’t really bugged me much over the past several days. In fact, I simply haven’t been thinking about drinking much at all. Sure, there’s a fleeting thought here or there, but these thoughts lack two critical components