After 8 years of my not very successful attempts to remain sober, I asked a new-found friend, Mac, with decades of Recovery under his belt something along the lines of "if I just don't drink, won't that be enough for me to stay sober?"
He chuckled as if I were a child telling a schoolyard joke.
"No, Jim. Nature abhors a vacuum."
He paused before continuing, as if he were waiting for me to be swallowed up by the quicksand of the absurdity of my question. His left eyebrow raised an almost imperceptible degree, suggesting, let this sink in: "You will have to replace the behavior you are trying to change with positive thoughts, behaviors and actions in the direction of recovery."
He closed with "Doing Nothing is NEVER an Option!"
To their own detriment, many people wish to remain fiercely independent. After 30 years of being dependent on drugs, I certainly did not want to turn around and become dependent on others to help me break my dependence on drugs, did I?
Or did I?
I didn't want to. I had to. I had no other choice. I was powerless over my addiction and my life was unmanageable. Geez, I wonder where I got that idea? Lol :-)
"Jim. Nature abhors a vacuum."
Fill your life with Recovery. And nothing less.
"Nothing matters more than that we remain sober because when we remain sober everything matters more."
Abstinence isn't enough.
Vacuum filled.
Recovery fulfilled: Happy. Content. Gratified. Serene.
*****
Also #enjoy ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: https://lnkd.in/esP83n-c
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
