I just found out that a good friend and neighbor just passed away. He had esophageal cancer and it finally took him. He was doing pretty well so it’s kind of a shock. We used to hang out, and his son would play old '70’s tunes on his guitar. He was a big drinker and chain smoker, but hadn’t drank since last fall when he started having difficulties swallowing. I kind of feel like drinking and listening to those same old tunes. But I won’t. That won’t help a damn bit. I am going to be strong through this. Miss ya, Bob. Going to listen to some Seeger tonight. Sober, in your honor.
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Sorry to hear about your friend. 
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Sorry for your loss. Thanks for sharing your strength in seeing that your sobriety honors your friend, and getting drunk cannot bring him back!
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Thank you, @SarahKM. Staying sober is the only way to do it. I see that now. The old me would have tried to drink the feelings away, but now I know in my heart and, more importantly, my mind that alcohol promises nothing but more pain and suffering. Life in the Raw can suck, but adding alcohol into the mix can only make it worse. Certainly this day has been pretty crappy with our friend passing and my daughter’s news that I posted about earlier, but I choose to let the feelings flow for awhile. Then I’m going to go to bed sober. Tomorrow will be a new opportunity for fresh perspective and growth.
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Thank you, Sassy! I appreciate that. Going to have a bit of chocolate ice cream tonight, that’s for sure.
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Yessssss! Agree with everything you said here. Unless we feel “life in the raw,” we will never move forward because we will always be running in circles trying to avoid the pain.
Believe me, I’ve done so much running and I’m exhausted! Lol. It’s better to sit back and deal with the feelings head on in the long run. Feelings are like waves that come in and then go. If we float there for a bit and acknowledge them for awhile, the feelings subside a bit and we can handle it. At least that’s how I feel about it…
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Makes a lot of sense. Feelings are temporary… If we deal with them! If we don’t, they catch up to us eventually and manifest in some pretty ugly ways!