Yesterday was an interesting follow up to a night where I decided to quit drinking at two beers and dumped the third one down the kitchen sink. I suspected there’d be some folks smoking pot at the BBQ we attended. But I holy smokes! It was really out of control!
Zero ; Single ; M: 146 ; C: 109 ; P/U: 70 ; W : 4.5 mi
No weigh in today
As is customary, I was offered a drink within minutes walking through the front door. That’s just folks being hospitable. I can appreciate that. I asked for a La Croix. It wasn’t long before I was offered a beer. I declined. And a second beer, which I also declined. A hit of pot, which I waved away. Another hit of pot. I politely said no. Various smokers offered me a hit no fewer than five times during my visit. But there was no way I was going to start smoking pot again with 108 days under my belt!
Smoking Pot Everywhere
It’s one thing to be offered marijuana and turn it down. But when half the attendees at the party are smoking pot, it’s only a matter of time before you inadvertently walk through a big ol’ thick cloud of it. And that’s what happened. Over and over again. Wham! Right in my face!
Still, I kept my resolve. There would be no smoking pot for me, sweet as it smelled wafting in the breeze. I was, however, slightly inclined to have a beer. Afterall, I was surrounded by drinking and smoking fiends! Yet, since I had just experienced the whole dumping the beer down the drain thing, when push came to shove, that didn’t appeal to me either.
Are you Taking a Break?
At one point, I was asked by a friend, who I had smoked pot with many, many times, if I was taking a break. I explained that I didn’t quit smoking pot. Quite the opposite, Pot had, in fact, quit me.
He looked at me quizzically without saying a word. So I continued to explain how after 35 days of meditation, I simply lost the desire to smoke pot anymore. Meditation had flipped the pot switch off. After that happened, I told him how I dumped all my pot over my back fence for the wildlife to enjoy.
“You dumped all your weed over the back fence? Why didn’t you give it to me?” he smiled.
“I just wanted to get rid of it.”
“Oh,” he replied, his skeptical look said it all.
Of course, it’s terribly difficult to explain to someone, especially someone who doesn’t meditate, how pot or anything else, would up and quit you. Who’s really in control here? You or the pot? My honest answer is: that depends… For me, it was the pot. Until it wasn’t. Now I’m back in control. And it feels pretty great. There’s no way I’m giving control back. Not a chance.
It’s kinda like having kids. If it hasn’t happened to you, you just don’t get it. You never will no matter how much someone tries to explain it to you. You might think you do, but you don’t. That’s the difference between sympathy and empathy.
But it’s quite alright with me that he doesn’t understand. Truthfully, I wouldn’t have believed it myself if it hadn’t have happened to me. Sounds too ‘new age-y” to be legit. Again, you have to experience it for yourself to truly appreciate what meditation brings to the table.
Hell, I still don’t really understand what happened to me and no longer smoking pot. I also can’t explain why the same hasn’t happened with alcohol, yet (though the other night may be a preview of things to come!). I just know that marijuana is something I did or thought about doing everyday for decades, and now I hardly think about it at all. Practically, never.
In any case, yesterday I successfully navigated a minefield of wafting pot clouds. I passed up pipes as they were passed around. And I steered clear of the abundant imported beers. Win. Win. And WIN.
Tomorrow, I look forward to a sober Halloween. My first sober Halloween in forever.
