09/20/2022
Well said Eric Tessmer!
I agree-hoping someone reads this that needs it
For me my “sobriety birthday” is 3/17/2010-St Patty’s Day and Mark Ruthenbeck’s birthday
Those are 2 HUGE reminders for me of drunk times I don’t want to repeat!
I started drinking when I was 15 so emotionally stopped growing then. If you do the math that makes me 27!
I’ll take it
Every September 14th I post about my sobriety, usually with a few words of encouragement for anyone that may need it. However I never really get deep into it, because I have zero intentions of or interest in ever telling anyone how to live their life and I don’t want it to be mistaken for that.
But sometimes (like today) I want to write out something that may lend someone clarity in the noise.
So, with that in mind, here’s some words I’ve strung together.
I used to think I couldn’t live without it, nowadays I couldn’t imagine ever drinking again. That in itself held a huge lesson for me: to remain vigilant over my thoughts (as weird as that may sound). Your thoughts dictate your perception, your perception is your attitude, your attitude guides your actions and experience. Your brain can trap you into some pretty ridiculous, even dangerous habits or it can bolster you to achieve absolutely incredible accomplishments.
If you ‘zoom out’ a little, you’ll find that life (among other things) is an exercise in learning to letting go. Letting go of things, possessions, habits, people, etc. Everything is impermanent, but humans have a tendency to cling to stuff and that creates many of our problems. I’ve found one of the most rewarding things to let go of is the idea that we have to somehow convince ourselves (through work, suffering, whatever…) that we’re capable or worthy of achieving the things we always knew, deep down, that we could. That’s why I find it so important to stay vigilant over my thoughts- our subconscious thoughts can literally have us believe that we’re not worthy of our dreams or pursuits and that will sabotage them all down the line. This isn’t necessarily about sobriety and yet it has everything to do with it.
Anyway, I hope that helps at least one person today. Have an incredible Wednesday, you deserve it.
I love y’all,
Eric
