RECOVERY Turns MOONSHINE into SUNSHINE!

 

(spectrumlocalnews.com)

Broadly speaking, Moonshine (illicitly distilled or smuggled liquor) might include anything you drink, smoke, snort, swallow or inject.

A User, Abuser or Addict covers a Wide Spectrum of Disorders.

I was a Textbook Case of All of the Above until the Up and Down Thrill Ride of Drug and Alcohol Use became a Downhill Disaster (Repeatedly, I might add: "The Relapse King" as I once called myself).

I've said it before, but it's worth repeating here: Recovery is Possible, Doable, Irreplaceable.

From the Moonshine of Addiction to the Sunshine of Recovery Takes Time (many suns, many moons).

When I tried staying clean and sober alone, I found myself drinking and drugging alone.

Find Shared Courage. Discover Recovery.

Turn Moonshine into Sunshine.

Nothing matters more.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

My Recovery Date & Birthdate are Intertwined. Here's WHY August 30th is my DOUBLE-DAY!:

 

My Birthdate and my Recovery Date fall some months and many years apart.

I began living on the day I was born, of course, a bit too obvious, yet no less true.

And no less true, this second life in Recovery that I am living, that I began Really living.

Addiction is dying. Addiction sucks the life right out of you.

I began living this second life on the day my Recovery began.

Let's figure this out: Sobriety Date: June 18th. Birthdate: October 24th. The MIDPOINT of these two days is August 30th. I HEREBY PROCLAIM AUGUST 30TH AS MY DOUBLE-DAY!

What's your Double-Day? Midway between Your Birth & Your Marriage? Your Graduation & the Birth of your First Child? The Day Between the Day you Quit Your Job & Found an Even Better One?

Everybody has a Double-Day! What's Yours? What's Yours? What's Yours?

My Recovery Date & Birthdate are Intertwined. Here's WHY: Because. Because. Because. 

Finally, I got my way. August 30th is my DOUBLE-DAY!

Going COLD TURKEY Might Mean YOUR GOOSE IS COOKED

 

"You are permitted in time of great danger to walk with the devil until you have crossed the bridge." - Bulgarian proverb

I never seriously tried to wean myself off alcohol as a means to quit drinking. Frankly, the thought rarely occurred to me. Alcohol was essential. Like Oxygen. I had, however, on several occasions tried to taper off my tobacco use by cutting down on my smoking: 30 cigarettes today, 29 tomorrow, 28 the next, until I would wind up in a month down to my final cigarette. I failed again and again.

Let's talk Turkey. Going Cold Turkey on Alcohol can have dangerous consequences. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. Suddenly NOT drinking, if you drank as I did, could lead to Delirium Tremens and, unsupervised, could have catastrophic consequences, including possible death.

Before Modern Medicine, I understand that Tapering Off Alcohol was a means to prevent the onset of the DT's (Delirium Tremens). Like my experiences attempting to quit cigarettes, tapering off alcohol failed nightly for me. Often, I would swear to bring my drinking down to a more REASONABLE level. If I drank 10 Scotch on the Rocks last night, let me shoot for only having 9 tonight and tomorrow, maybe 8. I would tell myself I would go home after the next drink when I reached what was my arbitrary limit, but always found excuses to have another. And another. 

My frail attempt at humor with this short post's title should not detract from my serious intent. After 30 years of Daily Binge Drinking, I can attest to how difficult it is to quit drinking. So if you WANT to quit drinking or feel you NEED to quit drinking, Fine. But remember, Going Cold Turkey can be Dangerous. Take Lone Turkey OFF Your Menu. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Do Not Attempt to go it Alone. Seek MEDICAL HELP. 

You don't have to "walk with the devil until you have crossed the bridge." Nor would I advise the Cold Turkey approach. Try Plan B: SEEK HELP. 

End of Story.

 

50th Anniversary of "The Pub" (25 Years Before My First Sobriety)

(pinterest.co.uk)

 

Not exactly Foreshadowing my eventual downfall from my Substance Use Disorder, "The Pub" is still worth some kind of personal commemoration if for no other reason than I stumbled upon it again (sober) recently.

Not my best piece of writing, but being 21 (the legal drinking age in Pennsylvania at the time) made me legal. I was still getting my feet wet (not drowning in a sea of alcohol as I would soon enough).

Being somewhat self-critical, I will admit it's a little on the too long side (42 lines). 

Alcohol had not yet taken over my life. Curiously, I was tripping on acid (LSD) when I wrote this, never knowing a few short years later I would become an Advertising Copywriter and write my first book, All Drinking Aside.

Remember as you read it, that alcohol had not yet broken me and that today, 50 years later, I am still Becoming Unbroken (the title of my forthcoming book). 

Without further ado, here is...

*****

"The Pub"

In its tables waxed and burnt with cigarette marks,

In its peanut shells and its glasses, endless piles of glasses,

In its cold-eyed stares and the smell of stale beer,

In its wine, in its whiskey and in its smell of people cramped into a crowd of loneliness,

I see life struggling to come to terms with itself.

In the laughter and the sadness of the Pub

And in the people's faces

I see a dizzy happiness reeling away and toppling over in the morning

And I see the hope that morning will not come

And I see the fear that each man's suffering will be felt

And I see that the suffering is felt but cannot be reckoned with.

In the thighs of thick-legged girls wanting to be themselves

Yet knowing they cannot be (as cold hands run up their stubbled legs, 

Searching for what? They are not quite sure.),

In the groins of men beyond the point of excitation 

And in the hands of men reaching for someone

And in the terror they feel if someone says they understand 

When they themselves are afraid to understand

And in the fear and in the ransacking of each other's eyes

I see the tears of human suffering streaming back to creation

In a repetitious dance of blackness

And I see myself and I see you

And I see life resolving itself.

In this Pub that I see,

And in the life I see therein,

I see people swallowing life,

Guzzling it down,

In the wine, in the beer, in the conversation

And I see people choking on the first breath of this overwhelming thing called life.

In the silence and the sadness of the Pub

I see the suffering of its people

And I feel compassion

And I feel my tears

(I can hold them back no longer)

And I sense that I alone am in the Universe

And I reach out to touch the hands of its people

And I see its people running away from me,

Hiding behind their drunken eyes

And I see that love is all I can give

And I see that love is not enough to give

And I see that love cannot be accepted by the people of the Pub

And I see that I drink my beer in silence and however occasional smiles.

*****

I guess I'll end this post with the appropriate title of one 50 Years more recent: 

"I Thirst for Life, Not What Took That Thirst Away."

*****

Please #Enjoy ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

IMPOSTER SYNDROME: "You'll Never Be Anything But A Drunk"

 (might-could.com)

[IMPOSTER SYNDROME is "a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success."]

"A Leopard Never Changes Its Spots"

"Once a Drunk, Always a Drunk"

"You'll Never Be ANYTHING But A Drunk" 

"We Don't Like You or the Horse You Rode In On." 

"You're Not Welcome Here."

"You're Full of Liquor, Full of Yourself and Full of Crap." 

"It's Not Just You We Hate, It's Everything About You." 

"You're a Worthless Piece of Shit and Deserve No Better." 

"You're a Fake. You're a Phony. You're a Failure."

*****

"Okay. I admit it. I'm Awkward, Lazy, Crazy and Dumb."

*****

STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP.

Just stop.

We, All of Us in Recovery. None of Us Are Perfect. None of Us.

But we deserve respect. Change is possible. We are learning to be kind to ourselves and to others. We are learning to not be so hard on ourselves, to in fact treat ourselves with kindness. Say YES to Recovery. Embrace your feelings. Unravel the mystery that a sober life brings forth.

I could go on an on, but I know anyone who has gotten this far in this post knows exactly what I'm talking about. Speaking only for myself, I have learned that there is no them or us, that we are all in this thing called life together. We are all broken. We are all healing. Life is Good and Getting Better Every Day Without the Drink or Drug. 

Liquid Courage. Pill Power. Fuck that. We are learning to be better than that, to be what we are on the inside, to not allow the world-at-large define us. 

Shared Courage. 

This post is so damned incomplete, but I want to get it out there, Rough, Unhewn. Unpolished. It's okay. I'm okay. We are human. All of us. IMPERFECTIONS DO NOT AN IMPOSTER MAKE. Just breathe.

"Nothing matters more than that we remain sober because when we remain sober everything matters more."

[PLEASE NOTE: If you got through this post, there's a very good chance you can get through this day Clean and Sober. Go Get 'em, Tiger! SEE, You're not a Leopard AFTER ALL!]

*****

You May Also Enjoy: ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

16 of 180 QUOTES by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous in ALL DRINKING ASIDE (Chapters 81 - 90, Part Nine of Nine)

 Chapter 81 Empty Bottles And Refillable Pain

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." - Herm Albright

*****

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED! Simultaneously TONGUE-IN-CHEEK and deadly SERIOUS, Herm Albright's Quote here stands as an inside joke and a whisper to any and all NAYSAYERS out there who may be within earshot (At least, that's my interpretation).

Many of what I thought of as Goody Two Shoes' Declarations of "The Wonder of it All" that I heard in my early Recovery and which I assumed would Piss Off the Pope, turned out to being nothing other than my need for an accumulation of sober days and the shedding of the terrible addiction skin I had lived within for dozens of years.

Recovery is Possible, Doable and Irreplaceable.

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

*****

Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Herm Albright (pictured) opens Chapter 81 (Empty Bottles And Refillable Pain) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live. It is asking other people to live as one wishes to live." - Oscar Wilde

*****

Religious Zealots are so deeply steeped in their ideology that they often can't see the forest for the trees.

Rather than indoctrinating people looking for Recovery, I try to meet them where they are and guide them to find ways to get from Point A to Point B. 

SEE IT MY WAY is a FAIL.

LET ME HELP YOU FIND YOUR WAY... therein, the REWARD.

*****

Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Oscar Wilde (pictured) closes Chapter 81 (Empty Bottles And Refillable Pain) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 82 You Can't Handle The Proof

"He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How." - Frederick Nietzsche

*****

WHY Recovery? BECAUSE Addiction SUCKS.

RECOVERY is Possible (Any HOW), Doable (Any HOW) and Irreplaceable (Any HOW).

"Nothing matters more than that we remain sober because when we remain sober everything matters more." - All Drinking Aside, p. 269

*****

Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Friedrich Nietzsche (pictured) opens Chapter 82 (You Can't Handle The Proof) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"Nowadays most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one's mistakes." - Oscar Wilde

*****

This Oscar Wilde quote is bewildering. I look at my own life in the rearview mirror and see that things likely couldn't have been much different than they were in order to bring me to my present moment. This does not mean that all that has happened has been a foregone conclusion. I could have died. I could have lived differently, even in my Recovery. The mistakes of a large part of an entire generation need not be perpetually carried forth into the next generation like some gigantic repetitious Wheel of Life. 

It is too late for me to do much of anything else about my storied past but to be Grateful for the Accrued Wisdom gained through my experience, while simultaneously acknowledging that the lives of others in this and future generations need not be swallowed up by addiction in order to reap the rewards of Addiction Survival. Much can be taught. Much may be learned. Much will be lost.

Wilde's quote is thorny, hopeful, tragic, human, complex, on and on, more words are needed than the words he used to express what I suppose was an Epiphany of sorts for his character. Like a movie I wish to see again and again, his words deserve multiple re-readings.

*****

Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Oscar Wilde (pictured) closes Chapter 82 (You Can't Handle The Proof) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 83 Catch The Beat, Dance Your Feet

"The best way to cheer yourself is to cheer somebody else up." - Mark Twain

*****

The Longest Word in the English Language, indeed, is SMILES [there's a mile between the two S's]. I'll leave it on this very Elementary School level here and not take a deep mental dive or go off on some spiritual tangent: A Human Communion will Cheer Up Almost Everybody. "We are not a Glum Lot" is how I've heard it expressed in Recovery Meetings. 

I have found this to be true. 

For me, Addiction is a disease of Separation & Isolation. I had become "an Alcoholic Animal" as the Subtitle to my Autobiographical Fiction, All Drinking Aside, suggests. My Recovery would become a return to the Human Race. 

A Dear Departed Friend used to frequently say to me "Jim, when all else fails [and before all else fails], help somebody else." And so it goes. 

Cheer up, Buttercup!

*****

Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Mark Twain (pictured) opens Chapter 83 (Catch The Beat, Dance Your Feet) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"The natural flights of the human mind are not from pleasure to pleasure, but from hope to hope." - Samuel Johnson

*****

ALCOHOL, the ULTIMATE ANESTHESIOLOGIST, suffocates emotions, delivering neither pleasure nor hope. Beyond pain, all feelings deadened, destroyed, obliterated. Nothing, then less than nothing, Alcohol, that most singular oxymoron, MORE, severed from meaning, More. Meaningless, more.

In Recovery "nothing matters more than that we remain sober because when we remain sober everything matters more."

Take Flight.

*****

Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Samuel Johnson (pictured) closes Chapter 83 (Catch The Beat, Dance Your Feet) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 84 All Drinking Aside

"The truth is balance, but the opposite of truth, which is unbalance, may not be a lie." - Susan Sontag

*****

In an attempt to Simplify, OVER-SIMPLIFICATION may end up Ruling the Roost. We (NOT ME, OF COURSE) divide our world into Ones & Zeroes where everything is clearly white or clearly black with Gray Areas almost Unimaginable. Oft times our lives are not simply so Yin or Yang. 

A Wheel has many spokes and bumps in the road abound. Life's Spectacles are best seen through Spectacles allowing things to be both Black & White and Full Color. 

Can I be any less clear? You bet your sweet imbalance I can. 

But when all discussions have subsided, I am left with "Nothing matters more than that we remain sober because when we remain sober everything matters more."

Balance, Truth, Lies, Imbalance. WHATEVER.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Susan Sontag (pictured) closes Chapter 84 (All Drinking Aside) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 85 The World Between

"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained." - Mark Twain

*****

ADDICTION seems so close to other INSANITIES. It enmeshes with them, nuzzling up till every crack and crevice is filled. When nothing else is left, what remains self-replicates. 

This is not a MYSTERY. It stands EXPLAINED.

Pour me no more. Give me space between all spaces. Fill me in, RECOVERY. There is always more and nothing less will do. I did not drink today. ADDICTION, fuck you.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Mark Twain (pictured) closes Chapter 85 (The World Between) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 86 Memory-Go-Rounds

"The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend." - Abraham Lincoln

*****

"I'M ONLY HUMAN" is my concocted self-defense against my failure to live up to the intent of this Quote by Lincoln. I tend to want to cut off HIS nose (not Lincoln's nose! lol) to spite MY face. It's sad and a little bit embarrassing, and yes, the truth hurts. 

My Pollyanna Defense died on the vine. GRUDGE is an Animal and I have raised it well.

Better sober than drunk. Better today than yesterday. Better tomorrow, I can only hope, my friend. 

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Abraham Lincoln (pictured) opens Chapter 86 (Memory-Go-Rounds) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"The years teach us much, which the days never knew." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

*****

Knowledge is a fabric accumulated on the loom of years. 

ADDICTION taught me nothing in its grasp. RECOVERY brought me more than I could ever ask for. 

I DID NOT KNOW WHAT I DID NOT KNOW. 

Use the skills you developed in your Addiction to acquire your next hit, shot, snort or smoke and you'll be fine. They will be assets as you start to get your life back and gather and expand your repertoire.

"Nothing matters more than that we remain sober because when we remain sober everything matters more."

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson (pictured) closes Chapter 86 (Memory-Go-Rounds) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 87 Fight Fear With Flight

"Nothing matters more than that we remain sober because when we remain sober everything matters more." - Jim Anders

*****

Everything is TRANSITORY. Life is short. Consequently, my Gratitude is ABUNDANT. Look at the Progressive Natures of Addiction & Recovery: "Loving to drink. Living to drink. Dying to drink. Dying from drinking. This is the progression of alcoholism. Wanting to live. Learning to live. Loving to live. Living with love. This is the progression of recovery."

My quote, pictured here, was an Epiphany of sorts. Everything is Transitory. True enough. Let us live out our remaining days in Recovery. Everything WILL matter more.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Jim Anders (pictured) closes Chapter 87 (Fight Fear With Flight) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 88 The Necessity Of Doubt

"It is because Humanity has never known where it was going that it has been able to find its way." - Oscar Wilde

*****

The Oscar Wilde Quote (pictured) is Counter-Intuitive, Sarcastic and Realistic. 

You decide. 

All I can say is that on my personal level ADDICTION was going nowhere for me and in RECOVERY I found my way (NEITHER Counter-Intuitive NOR Sarcastic). Accepting RESPONSIBILITY and attempting to live with a Realistic Humility is my Game Plan now. 

Recovery is my Everything.

Oscar Wilde never fails to give the Reader something to think about. I hope that I, at times, have followed suit.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Oscar Wilde (pictured) closes Chapter 88 (The Necessity Of Doubt) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 89 A Tall, Dark Stranger

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." - Aesop

*****

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT starts HERE: The most minute occurrence on the smallest scale could be the start of something big. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. 

Be the start of something good. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Aesop (pictured) opens Chapter 89 (A Tall, Dark Stranger) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"Real generosity towards the future lies in giving all to the present." - Albert Camus

*****

Like Viktor Frankl (author of Man's Search for Meaning), Camus, too was a SEARCHER. My own search for meaning had drugs and alcohol in the mix. In my ADDICTION, the drink or drug in my hand was never enough. Perhaps meaning could be found in the NEXT ONE. During my 30-year fall down the rabbit hole, drug use offered me little or no GRATIFICATION in the present moment. 

In RECOVERY, the present moment is a generous gift which allows the possibility of a satisfying future to exist.

Yes, I twisted this Quote to suit my purpose here, but that sort of proves the point, doesn't it?

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Albert Camus (pictured) closes Chapter 89 (A Tall, Dark Stranger) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 90 Perpetual Reconstruction

"Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time." - Robindranath Tagore

*****

The INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION was in full swing long before Robindranath Tagore was even born (1861 - 1941). A hundred years earlier and for all of human history that preceded it, his stark warning would have been viewed as a LUNACY because each successive generation was passed the human torch from the previous generation without incident or much, if any, need for modification. In essence, life on Earth had not changed significantly from the INVENTION of the WHEEL to its INDUSTRIALIZATION shortly before Tagore's birth.

He lived to see the onslaught of Henry Ford and MASS PRODUCTION. 

Since his lifetime, all life has changed dramatically yet again and with an ever-quickening pace. The DIGITAL AGE is upon us and change has escalated and become more divergent. Never has it been more true to say "Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time."

Giving advice to the children of tomorrow is a FOOL'S PARADISE. By the time a child has children of their own, our modern life has already made DINOSAURS of them.

"Don't limit a child to your own learning" has become the best starting point for any generation.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Robindranath Tagore (pictured) opens Chapter 90 (Perpetual Reconstruction) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterward." - Spanish Proverb

*****

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterward." is a Spanish Proverb and the last Quote of 180 by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous in my last book, All Drinking Aside. It is also the first Quote in my next book, Becoming Unbroken. 

As poignant and important as this Quote is, what it omits is that THERE IS STILL WORK TO BE DONE. It is a reminder to me to maintain a life in balance. 

Life is good. Strive on, "then rest afterward."

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote. a Spanish Proverb (pictured), closes Chapter 90 (Perpetual Reconstruction) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy

20 of 180 QUOTES by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous in ALL DRINKING ASIDE (Chapters 71 - 80, Part Eight of Nine)

Chapter 71 Virtuous Cycles Of Progress

"No price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Friedrich Nietzsche 

*****

I HAD NO SELF TO OWN as I grew up. Peer Group Pressure worked its magic before I'd ever heard the term. "If John or Mary jumped off a bridge, would you?" OF COURSE I WOULD & could & did. As I've said in my book "ADDICTION REPLACED SELF-DISCOVERY." 

The true meaning of this Nietzsche quote wouldn't be known for 30+ years after I'd read it in a college text. MY BRAIN IS NOT FOR SALE TODAY, I've paid enough already. The other side of Addiction, this Recovery thing, is Invaluable. I owe my everything to Recovery.

*****

Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Friedrich Nietzsche (pictured) opens Chapter 71 (Virtuous Cycles Of Progress) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"I thank God for my handicaps for, through them, I have found myself, my work, and my God." - Helen Keller

*****

"GRATEFUL RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC" used to stick in my craw (my gut reaction in my Early Recovery was "too much Phony Baloney"), but having survived my CHEMICALLY-INDUCED INSANITY, I have learned much about myself in Recovery (inescapable, really, in that thorny untangling). The part of the Helen Keller Quote, "I have found myself," reminds me of looking for my keys, only to discover I was holding them the whole time. Not a seeker of Heavenly Mansions, I am content with my feet planted firmly on the Earth and the expansive sky above. All that said, this quote has a great feel to it, no matter how I may differ in its particulars.

*****

Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Helen Keller (pictured) closes Chapter 71 (Virtuous Cycle of Progress) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 72 Insanity's Bouquet

"Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

*****

 Insanity's Bouquet

*****

I will not fail this time. I told myself just this after every relapse. Each time I relapsed, it got progressively worse OUT THERE in ADDICTION-LAND. And each time I found Sobriety, I maintained a little longer and became progressively stronger. This is INSANE. I could and would succeed. Others had. 

"Insanity's bouquet is not of different colored roses, or different flowers of various sorts. It's a bouquet of weapons, destruction, defense and offense, all wrapped in lies and gin-soaked tears, false laughter, hollowed-out bones. This is insanity's bouquet. Hot steel, cold steel, nothing. I will fill the black holes of my memory with a retrained brain. Live my way sober or lie my way drunk, powerless victim or sober victor. One foot in front of the other." 

*****

Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Winston Churchill (pictured) opens Chapter 72 (Insanity's Bouquet) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow... but only empties today of its strength." - C. H. Spurgeon

*****

If Life is Suffering, then Addiction is INSUFFERABLE, INTOLERABLE & UNNECESSARY. 

If Life is Suffering, then Recovery is still POSSIBLE, DOABLE & IRREPLACEABLE.

If Life IS NOT Suffering, then ALL OF THE ABOVE are still True.

Anxiety is a Non-Starter. Pause, Plan, Take Action. CHANGE or ACCEPT. Anxiety is Not the Answer.

*****

Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by C. H. Spurgeon (pictured) closes Chapter 72 (Insanity's Bouquet) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 73 This Sober Road

"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance: the wise man grows it under his feet." - James Oppenheimer

*****

Concentration on the HERE & NOW is the sure road to the THERE & THEN. I love that Oppenheimer says to grow happiness under your feet. GREEN & SLOW is the way to go. Simple, Subtle, Organic. 

Good one, James! Thank you for reminding me. Flip-flops READY to NUZZLE the NOW!

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by James Oppenheimer (pictured) opens Chapter 73 (This Sober Road) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens." - Epictetus

*****

Epictetus, the Greek Stoic Philosopher was born a Slave. I became a Slave of my Addiction to Alcohol. My Drug Fixations left me Twisting in the Wind and Recovery has been my Untwisting. I hear echoes of the Serenity Prayer here. Emotions fueled by Alcohol led me down the road of Bad Choices and Catastrophic Consequences. 

Pause. The Middle Way. Breathe. 

I'll take "the rest as it happens." Sober. One Day at a Time.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Epictetus (pictured) closes Chapter 73 (This Sober Road) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 74 Taking A Breather

"Everything we see hides another thing; we always want to see what is hidden by what we see." - Rene Magritte

*****

MY DENIAL PROGRESSED AS MY ADDICTION PROGRESSED. Behind every Lie, another Lie. Peel an onion, seek the heart of the artichoke, eventually Addiction (the nothing that is) will be revealed, a brain deeply changed from the brain that took that first drink or drug. 

And behind Addiction's last lie? Recovery (or death) may be found. And Hidden within that? Hope, a Contented Smile and inside that Smile, Contentment itself. The search outward has become the search within. Whatever may be hidden is in Recovery revealed.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Rene Magritte (pictured) opens Chapter 74 (Taking A Breather) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water and breeds reptiles of the mind." - William Blake

*****

The mind may close in on itself, an IMPLOSION of sorts, a slow and subtle crumpling inward, a different state of mind than either MEDITATION (quiet connection with the world) or ADDICTION (a chemically-induced corrosion). 

The mind must open itself to change, to inclusion, to expansion. Hardened opinions form the bars of a prison. The mind seeks freedom to explore beyond the murky waters of stagnation. Explore, unafraid, the new world each moment unfurls. The world is good. Grow with it.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by William Blake (pictured) closes Chapter 74 (Taking A Breather) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 75 Broken Record

"If you keep saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet." - Isaac B. Singer

*****

I called myself "The Relapse King" right up to my eighth year of repeatedly going on and off the wagon. Before that, Bartenders called me "Rusty" after the Rusty Nails I drank. Today, I go simply as Jim. I am an Alcoholic in Long-Term Recovery. I'll stick with that and hope it sticks with me. Recovery is my cup of tea and life is good, Sober as I go. All I foresee? Another cup of tea. Good is good enough for me.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Isaac B. Singer (pictured) opens Chapter 75 (Broken Record) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"The cause is hidden, but the result is known." - Ovid

*****

Like a set of 10 Russian Nesting Dolls, I knew inside each drink I drank I'd find another drink. Others likely called me Alcoholic long before I did. With a certain sense of pride, I eventually thought of  myself as a "High-Achieving Alcoholic" until that became another lie I told myself. 

Do Nesting Dolls drink before they go out drinking and continue to drink after all the Normal Norm's and Norma's have found their way home? 

"The cause [was poorly] hidden, but the result [was] well known."

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Ovid (pictured) closes Chapter 75 (Broken Record) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 76 Selling A Dream, Buying A Nightmare

"Suffering in and of itself is meaningless; we give our suffering meaning by the way in which we respond to it." - Viktor Frankl

*****

Viktor Frankl lived through being a Prisoner of War during WWII. His book, Man's Search for Meaning, had been referenced in so many books I'd read from various disciplines that I finally had to breakdown and read it. My seeing it through the Lens of Addiction helped to deepen my understanding. Prisoner of War/Prisoner of Addiction. Perhaps the Analogies are too obvious, but they are also cunningly subtle. 

The Subtitle to my book (All Drinking Aside) may help prove my point: The Destruction, Deconstruction and Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal.

No additional clues need be provided here. 

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Viktor Frankl (pictured) opens Chapter 76 (Selling A Dream, Buying A Nightmare) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them." - Albert Einstein

*****

In my case, the "Same Thinking" Einstein was referring to in this Quote translated into the "Insane Thinking" that goes on inside the head and behind the beady eyes of a rodent on the Hamster Wheel of Addiction. When that Wheel stops spinning, a thoughtful, feeling heart might then begin to emerge, to open the mental windows and sober doors of perception so that bridges back to Sanity can begin to be built. No matter the approaches or methods used, being sober is a prerequisite for remaining sober because, as they say... 

"You can't stop drinking drinking."

I don't really know how much my thinking actually created my addiction, but my repeated exposure to alcohol and its effects on my brain at ever-increasing levels of consumption seem to have created the perfect storm for what amounted to a chemical hijacking of my brain. This was not a destination I had consciously chosen. I arrived there in increments until, at some point, I found myself on the River of No Return.  

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Albert Einstein (pictured) closes Chapter 76 (Selling A Dream, Buying A Nightmare) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 77 Resentment

"The inner fire is the most important thing mankind possesses." - Edith Sodergran

*****

Inner Fire may be my Heart's Desire, but with Alcohol as Fuel, it Consumed me as it Burned. A False Belief in Chemical Inspiration, my Hijacked Brain went Down in Flames.

Oh, look! How Pretty. Until Pretty Got Ugly, with me, on the Witness Stand, Defending my Would-Be Murderer almost to my last breath. Denial Would Be on Trial, and Alcohol Would Lose.

It's not like that Today. Recovery is my Possible, Doable, Irreplaceable Fuel.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Edith Sodergran (pictured) opens Chapter 77 (Resentment) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy." - Steven Weinberg

*****

This Quote by Weinberg, a Nobel laureate in Physics, takes me back to my High School days when ABC's Wide World of Sports described "the Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat" of Athletic Competition. That reminds me of the struggles of the fisherman in The Old Man and The Sea, and on to Pablo Picasso declaring that "the Reach is more important than the Grasp." Few Victories and many Defeats. Such has been my life, most people's lives, I suppose.

My early-on failed attempts at a sustained sobriety have confirmed that I am but a humble me whose shell had broken. I was a Humpty-Dumpty, Drunk and far from Royalty, but I have survived the unnecessary journey of Addiction with Lessons Learned, a life somehow more complete in spite of (and sometimes because of) my resultant Travails. I am grateful for the combination of Grit and Luck which have left me live to a Ripe Old Recovery Age. 

As for understanding the universe, if I may paraphrase Chesterfield's 101 cigarettes, maybe I'm "a silly [little] millimeter" closer than I'd have otherwise been, but that's okay. It's all good. "Nothing matters more than that we remain sober because when we remain sober everything matters more."

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Steven Weinberg (pictured) closes Chapter 77 (Resentment) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 78 This Is Where We Find Ourselves

"Doubt grows with knowledge." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

*****

DOUBT OR DOUBTLESS? Supercilious Silliness (to me)

*****

The more I know, the more I think I know the growing ball of string I've been collecting is no closer to infinite. That may sound deep or close to accurate, but I suppose it is not a statement of Science, Philosophy or Religion. It is Bar Room talk or Childhood talk, sitting on the Front Stoop, gazing at the Stars perhaps. "Enquiring Minds Want to Know" is Pure Tabloid Trash Talk, but consideration of Source neither diminishes nor expands the Truth of the Thing Expanded Upon (just a guess). 

I am tormented by neither Doubt nor Ultimate Answers. I should have started here, no doubt.

My Ball of String keeps growing, but in relation to What, I'm not quite Sure. I'm Sober, so, that Torment Ended is Enough for me Today.

My Recovery Grows after Addiction's Long Descent, "Doubt Grows with Knowledge" aside.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pictured) opens Chapter 78 (This Is Where We Find Itself) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity." - George Bernard Shaw

*****

YOU MAY ONE DAY FIND (perhaps you have already found) someone who will not want to listen, who professes as you once did, that everything is fine, "I've got this under control" they say (as you once may have said). 

LESS THAN 2 MONTHS AGO I posted what follows. Your addiction has made you indifferent to me, to yourself. That's okay. IF NOT YOU, I hope that it helps me. 

HERE GOES: "The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity." - George Bernard Shaw

A FALSE INDIFFERENCE, deadened by alcohol, an indifference generated by addiction. Another, another, another drink slowly has been replacing other people, unwittingly, unintentionally, perhaps, but no less real a replacement.

No less real for you, Under the Influence. One sentence ending is the beginning of the next and although I am not drinking, your drinking has strung me out. Can I put a string of lights in the tunnel we're both now in, you drunk, me sober? The tunnel is real and it does have an end, but the light you see at the end of the tunnel is still imaginary because you are still drinking. The pain I feel is not at the end of the tunnel. It is real. It is here. And it seems to have no end. 

I must stop calling you you or you might think... What? 

I will call you him now. He needs help. He is in a tunnel without end. He is where I once was. I was another him once. There was another drink once. 

Once upon a time is now and I do not hate. Once upon a time is now and I am not indifferent. I have found the him that was me and am losing the him that is you.

This Cycle must be broken. I am no longer him. You are no longer you. If I can help you find your first day sober (again), I may add another day to my string of days. It is as hard today as when I was you and now you have become him too. 

Walk with me so that we may both become a little less broken.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by George Bernard Shaw (pictured) closes Chapter 78 (This Is Where We Find Ourselves) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 79 A Daily Reprieve

"Not to be absolutely certain is, I think, one of the essential things in rationality." - Bertrand Russell

*****

Once thinking that drinking was essential to achieve and maintain the Good Life was never rational, even before my first ever drink. Addiction slowly chips away rationality to reveal itself as what it truly is: INSANITY Accrued on the Installment Plan. 

In Recovery I have learned that there are few things I am absolutely certain of needing. After Shelter, Food & Water, here's what tops that list: "Nothing matters more than that we remain sober because when we remain sober everything matters more." 

To be absolutely certain of anything else, I'll leave that to Religious Zealots & Suicide Bombers.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Bertrand Russell (pictured) opens Chapter 79 (A Daily Reprieve) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"The older I get the more I trust in the law according to which the rose and the lily bloom." - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

*****

Breathe Deeply. Inhale the moment. This is not a Rat Race to some unknown Finish Line. This is Living Simply. I feel water being absorbed from the depths of the Soil and expressed in the blooms of the lily and the rose here. 

There can be No Poisoning of these Waters by Chemical Assault. A Sober, Sustained FRAGILITY can be Realized, Felt and Lived. 

A Quieter Life, Chaos Diminished, Silenced, Gone. Smell Freedom. Live ABUNDANTLY. 

Add your own interpretation to this Goethe Quote. Find your own Recovery. Smooth your Edges. BLOOM!

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (pictured) closes Chapter 79 (A Daily Reprieve) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

Chapter 80 My Second Insanity

"In quarreling, the truth is always lost." - Publilius Syrus

*****

I would start an ARGUMENT with my ROOMMATE-DU-JOUR whenever there was not a drop to drink in the house. The TRUTH was LOST before I found the exit. A Bar or Liquor Store is quickly Found. It was me who was always Lost.

Many or most arguments have untruths and buried lies in their origins. But who in the heat of it all seeks to know the cause beneath it all? 

Alcohol, of course, made all of the above worse because I either had TOO MUCH or NOT ENOUGH. Too much or not enough is no way to live, but that's what addiction is. Too Much or Not Enough.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Publilius Syrus (pictured) opens Chapter 80 (My Second Insanity) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.

"Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop." - Ovid

*****

SVALBARD GLOBAL SEED VAULT is a long-term seed storage facility inside a mountain between mainland Norway and the North Pole. Its purpose is to ensure Earth's crop diversity. 

Too much information, but not enough explanation? 

Too many WHYS, HOWS & WHERETOFORES? 

Give your mind a rest and your imagination will flourish. Imagine the needs and wants of the seeds. What is the purpose of life? 

SLOW DOWN, BUCKY! This could be our last and best hope for life to survive. HOW MANY VARIETIES OF POTATOES CAN THERE BE? Blue, purple, orange. Many more.

But now I must rest. I am EXHAUSTED. My brain sleeps in a long-term seed storage facility. If I am patient, my harvest will be Bountiful.

*****

ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal  

Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO 

#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books

All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.

This Quote by Ovid (pictured) closes Chapter 80 (My Second Insanity) of All Drinking Aside.

Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.