I’ve been having a pretty great time, being sober, lately. But every once in awhile, a craving really hits me hard. This afternoon has been one such moment. I was able to leave work super early today, so I’m in a tremendously good mood. I decided to get some stuff done, to get a jump on the weekend but all I really wanna do is go belly up to the bar and have a beer.
And it got me thinking.
Drinking is EXACTLY what I would be doing, right now, if we wound the clock back 3 months. I always took advantage of an early out by getting drunk. So, this craving I’m experiencing is actually teaching me a little bit about who I USED TO be. (and still am, technically) I love that for the following reasons :
- I get to appreciate how my life has improved.
- Im not spending money and wasting time.
- I now know to be extra careful, during times like
this. I can see that it’s a trigger and plan for it. - I’m no closer to drinking now than I was before
the cravings. So I won.
Picture this:
Imagine a map, all folded up accordion style (as maps are want to be). You open it and begin to see that it is a map of your life. The map will only unfold up until today.
On this map you can see all aspects of your life, including several of the people and places and situations that led you to drink/use. All the obvious people and places are colored in RED.
Safe places/people, where you’re not at risk of using are colored in BLUE. The vast majority of the map is still colored in GRAY. This is unexplored sober territories. You may or may not be twisted by them, but you won’t know until you go there.
THAT’S what these cravings are doing. They affirm what we already know, when we’re in A RED ZONE. When they’re utterly absent, we mark that place or situation BLUE. And when we get off of work, ridiculously early, they teach us that that GRAY ZONE is actually A RED ZONE. Fuuuck yeah! That’s another tool in my kit.
Safe travels, my friends.