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 growing 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 one of my books, "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.
Addiction owned me. Today, I own my Recovery "with a little help from my friends."
*****
For an added treat, check out my NEW Non-Fiction, BECOMING UNBROKEN: Reflections on Addiction and Recovery on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Unbroken-Reflections-Addiction-Recovery/dp/B09QP3M5LX/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1691417844&sr=1-1
In the meantime, Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in my Autobiographical Fiction, ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: All Drinking Aside: The Destruction, Deconstruction and Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal: Anders, Jim: 9781492397304: Amazon.com: Books
#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 pages while you're there: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L0HNSL1ZHJVK&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1691417694&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C71&sr=1-1
Enjoy BOTH OF THESE BOOKS on ADDICTION & RECOVERY! (Print & Kindle Versions of Both are Available!
"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 this 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.
*****
For an added treat, check out my NEW Non-Fiction, BECOMING UNBROKEN: Reflections on Addiction and Recovery on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Unbroken-Reflections-Addiction-Recovery/dp/B09QP3M5LX/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1691417844&sr=1-1
In the meantime, Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in my Autobiographical Fiction, ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L0HNSL1ZHJVK&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1691417694&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C71&sr=1-1
#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 pages while you're there: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L0HNSL1ZHJVK&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1691417694&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C71&sr=1-1
Enjoy BOTH OF THESE BOOKS on ADDICTION & RECOVERY! (Print & Kindle Versions of Both are Available!
Chapter 72 Insanity's Bouquet
*****
INSANITY'S BOUQUET
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
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."
*****
For an added treat, check out my NEW Non-Fiction, BECOMING UNBROKEN: Reflections on Addiction and Recovery on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Unbroken-Reflections-Addiction-Recovery/dp/B09QP3M5LX/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1691417844&sr=1-1
In the meantime, Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in my Autobiographical Fiction, ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L0HNSL1ZHJVK&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1691417694&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C71&sr=1-1
#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 pages while you're there: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L0HNSL1ZHJVK&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1691417694&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C71&sr=1-1
Enjoy BOTH OF THESE BOOKS on ADDICTION & RECOVERY! (Print & Kindle Versions of Both are Available!
"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.
*****
For an added treat, check out my NEW Non-Fiction, BECOMING UNBROKEN: Reflections on Addiction and Recovery on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Unbroken-Reflections-Addiction-Recovery/dp/B09QP3M5LX/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1691417844&sr=1-1
In the meantime, Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in my Autobiographical Fiction, ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L0HNSL1ZHJVK&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1691417694&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C71&sr=1-1
#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 pages while you're there: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L0HNSL1ZHJVK&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1691417694&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C71&sr=1-1
Enjoy BOTH OF THESE BOOKS on ADDICTION & RECOVERY! (Print & Kindle Versions of Both are Available!
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 this Oppenheimer quote 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!
*****
For an added treat, check out my NEW Non-Fiction, BECOMING UNBROKEN: Reflections on Addiction and Recovery on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Unbroken-Reflections-Addiction-Recovery/dp/B09QP3M5LX/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1691417844&sr=1-1
In the meantime, Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in my Autobiographical Fiction, ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L0HNSL1ZHJVK&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1691417694&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C71&sr=1-1
#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 pages while you're there: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L0HNSL1ZHJVK&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1691417694&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C71&sr=1-1
Enjoy BOTH OF THESE BOOKS on ADDICTION & RECOVERY! (Print & Kindle Versions of Both are Available!
"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.
*****
For an added treat, check out my NEW Non-Fiction, BECOMING UNBROKEN: Reflections on Addiction and Recovery on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Unbroken-Reflections-Addiction-Recovery/dp/B09QP3M5LX/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1691417844&sr=1-1
In the meantime, Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in my Autobiographical Fiction, ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: hhttps://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L0HNSL1ZHJVK&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1691417694&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C71&sr=1-1
#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 pages while you're there: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L0HNSL1ZHJVK&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1691417694&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C71&sr=1-1
Enjoy BOTH OF THESE BOOKS on ADDICTION & RECOVERY! (Print & Kindle Versions of Both are Available!
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.
*****
For an added treat, check out my NEW Non-Fiction, BECOMING UNBROKEN: Reflections on Addiction and Recovery on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Unbroken-Reflections-Addiction-Recovery/dp/B09QP3M5LX/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1691417844&sr=1-1
In the meantime, Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in my Autobiographical Fiction, ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L0HNSL1ZHJVK&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1691417694&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C71&sr=1-1
#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 pages while you're there: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L0HNSL1ZHJVK&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1691417694&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C71&sr=1-1
Enjoy BOTH OF THESE BOOKS on ADDICTION & RECOVERY! (Print & Kindle Versions of Both are Available!
"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. Go forth free, clean and sober..
*****
ALL DRINKING ASIDE bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
The opening quote by William Blake 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 pages while you're there: All Drinking Aside: The Destruction, Deconstruction and Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal: Anders, Jim: 9781492397304: Amazon.com: Books
ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1NJOTD50MMO6N&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1668889292&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Caps%2C3803&sr=8-1
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 (Scotch and Drambuie). 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 can foresee is another cup of coffee and some sober smiles.
Good is good enough for me.
*****
For an added treat, check out my NEW Non-Fiction, BECOMING UNBROKEN: Reflections on Addiction and Recovery on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Unbroken-Reflections-Addiction-Recovery/dp/B09QP3M5LX/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1694094566&sr=1-3
In the meantime, Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in my Autobiographical Fiction, ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3ESS9ZANLN9H2&keywords=all+drinking+aside&qid=1694094500&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C80&sr=1-1
#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 pages while you're there: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3ESS9ZANLN9H2&keywords=all+drinking+aside&qid=1694094500&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C80&sr=1-1
Enjoy BOTH OF THESE BOOKS on ADDICTION & RECOVERY! (Print & Kindle Versions of Both are Available!
"The cause is hidden, but the result is well 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?
My New Normal was that drunken state somewhere between F.U.B.A.R. and Blackout.
To think that that was not what I wanted or needed was hidden from me as I de-escalated. Recovery accumulates long after the last drop, vapor or shot has evaporated.
"The cause [was poorly] hidden, but the result [was] well known."
The unexpected comfort that Recovery has given me: Nesting Dolls bowled over, now silent.
Numbed by alcohol and drugs is not Peace.
Recovery is where Peace is Found, the Silence that is in all Sound.
*****
For an added treat, check out my NEW Non-Fiction, BECOMING UNBROKEN: Reflections on Addiction and Recovery on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Unbroken-Reflections-Addiction-Recovery/dp/B09QP3M5LX/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1694094566&sr=1-3
In the meantime, Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in my Autobiographical Fiction, ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3ESS9ZANLN9H2&keywords=all+drinking+aside&qid=1694094500&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C80&sr=1-1
#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 pages while you're there: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3ESS9ZANLN9H2&keywords=all+drinking+aside&qid=1694094500&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C80&sr=1-1
Enjoy BOTH OF THESE BOOKS on ADDICTION & RECOVERY! (Print & Kindle Versions of Both are Available!
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 felt, finally, that I had to breakdown and read it. My seeing his being a Survivor of War through the Lens of my Addiction and Recovery has helped to deepen my understanding of life in multiple fashions.
Prisoner of War/Prisoner of Addiction.
Perhaps the analogies are too obvious, but they are also cunningly subtle.
I give my recovery meaning by the way I respond to suffering.
Layers of meaning for me here.
All poignant.
Salut.
LIFE IS GOOD.
Means something... sober.
*****
For an added treat, check out my NEW Non-Fiction, BECOMING UNBROKEN: Reflections on Addiction and Recovery on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Unbroken-Reflections-Addiction-Recovery/dp/B09QP3M5LX/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1694094566&sr=1-3
In the meantime, Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in my Autobiographical Fiction, ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3ESS9ZANLN9H2&keywords=all+drinking+aside&qid=1694094500&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C80&sr=1-1
#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 pages while you're there: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3ESS9ZANLN9H2&keywords=all+drinking+aside&qid=1694094500&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C80&sr=1-1
Enjoy BOTH OF THESE BOOKS on ADDICTION & RECOVERY! (Print & Kindle Versions of Both are Available!
"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 his 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.
*****
For an added treat, check out my NEW Non-Fiction, BECOMING UNBROKEN: Reflections on Addiction and Recovery on Amazon here: https://lnkd.in/dkF767RT
In the meantime, Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in my Autobiographical Fiction, 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 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 pages while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
Enjoy BOTH OF THESE BOOKS on ADDICTION & RECOVERY! (Print & Kindle Versions of Both are Available!
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.
*****
For an added treat, check out my NEW Non-Fiction, BECOMING UNBROKEN: Reflections on Addiction and Recovery on Amazon here: https://lnkd.in/dkF767RT
In the meantime, Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in my Autobiographical Fiction, ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2UDG8KO572HSU&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1695044908&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C88&sr=1-1
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
The quote by Edith Sodergran 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 pages while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
Enjoy BOTH OF THESE BOOKS on ADDICTION & RECOVERY! (Print & Kindle Versions of Both are Available!
"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.
"A Grateful Recovering Addict" makes for a nice close, so I'll leave it right there.
*****
For an added treat, check out my NEW Non-Fiction, BECOMING UNBROKEN: Reflections on Addiction and Recovery on Amazon here: https://lnkd.in/dkF767RT
In the meantime, Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in my Autobiographical Fiction, ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2O9CCNAJQ5L8M&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1695135374&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C58&sr=1-1
#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 pages while you're there: https://www.amazon.com/All-Drinking-Aside-Deconstruction-Reconstruction/dp/149239730X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2O9CCNAJQ5L8M&keywords=All+Drinking+Aside&qid=1695135374&s=books&sprefix=all+drinking+aside%2Cstripbooks%2C58&sr=1-1
Enjoy BOTH OF THESE BOOKS on ADDICTION & RECOVERY! (Print & Kindle Versions of Both are Available!
Chapter 78 This Is Where We Find Ourselves
"Doubt grows with knowledge." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
*****
"THE HURRIER I GO THE BEHINDER I GET" is widely attributed to be a Pennsylvania Dutch expression (among other possible sources).
"It wonders me." I had my doubts, so I had to look it up.
Good guess (talking to you, the Reader here). "It wonders me" is a Pennsylvania Dutch colloquialism, with deeper origins in the English of the 1500's.
"WTF?" (you might be asking) This tried-and-true acronym hails from the latter part of the twentieth century and has various meanings besides what is obvious here. "WTF?" serves here to express my consternation as I (and perhaps you) seek the meaning of anything, in this case, "the hurrier I go the behinder I get."
"Doubt Grows with Knowledge" is where this started for me. It took me down the rabbit hole of meanings, etymologies, colloquialisms and face it (for me, anyway), frustration. The Truth of this famous Johann Wolfgang von Goethe quote brings me to my personal thoughts and feelings about it:
The more I come to know, the more I am humbled by my knowledge. Such Humility can stop on a dime, take a 180 and reveal False Pride. I have my doubts but heed the warning.
These four words, "Doubt Grows with Knowledge," surely mean far different things to everyone who reads them.
I will leave it to you to pause and reflect upon them. "To each their own." (BTW, these four words may be found in Shakespeare's Hamlet.)
"Mox nix" (Pennsylvania Dutch for "irrelevant.")
lol
"Doubt grows with knowledge." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Thank you, Johann
*****
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://lnkd.in/eYFgxPz4
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
This Johann Wolfgang von Goethe quote opens 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: https://lnkd.in/eYFgxPz4 Enjoy.
WE CANNOT AFFORD THE EXTRAVAGANCE OF INDIFFERENCE
"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
One day you may find 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. too, once may have said).
"Your addiction has made you indifferent to me, to yourself," you say to yourself after failing to get this same thought across to them.
A FALSE INDIFFERENCE, deadened by alcohol and other drugs, is generated by addiction. Another drink, another, another drug, slowly has been replacing other people, unwittingly, unintentionally perhaps, but no less real a replacement for them. They are now where you may have been when you were in your addiction (Deep in, deep. I was DEEP IN).
They Are Still Out There. Their Unreality does not make it any less real for you. They are in a tunnel. You are in Recovery and they, they are still strongly Under the Influence. They, they live in that tunnel. One sentence ending is the beginning of the next and although you are not drinking and drugging, their addiction has now strung you out, too. The pain you feel is not at the end of the tunnel. It is real. It is here. And it seems to have no end. Mostly they do no seem to care and sometimes neither do you.
They need help. They are where you once were. You were once just like them or close to it. There was another drink once, another drug once. That Once was an Always. That Once Upon a Time, that time is now gone. Oh, how that Once Upon a Time Unreality was Us. We dare not fail to help them. We must try, at least. There is no time here for hate or indifference.
Help others where and how you can. Helping others to break their Cycles of Addiction will help us all become a little less broken, less broken. We, we who are in recovery, cannot afford the Extravagance of Indifference.
At least I cannot afford it. The Extravagance of Indifference is beyond me for today. I entered that Endless Tunnel (where they now live) only momentarily recently. I offered help where and how and when I could.
No one ever said this would be easy.
Help them to Emerge.
Failing that, Strive on.
*****
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://lnkd.in/eYFgxPz4
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
The Opening Quote by George Bernard Shaw 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: https://lnkd.in/eYFgxPz4 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.
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.
*****
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://lnkd.in/eYFgxPz4
#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 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: https://lnkd.in/eYFgxPz4 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 own Edges. BLOOM!
*****
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://lnkd.in/eYFgxPz4
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
The Quote by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe 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: https://lnkd.in/eYFgxPz4 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.
*****
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.
*****
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.
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