Don’t you know I’m still standing better than I ever did. Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid. I’m still standing after all this time. Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind. I’m still standing.
I’m Still Standing – Elton John
No matter which way you look at it – alcohol is an addictive substance, period. Just like cocaine, nicotine, heroin, or any other drug, alcohol falls into the same category. So the fact that there are people all around the world who cannot drink “moderately” and who have a problem with alcohol makes perfect sense. Let me repeat that, alcohol itself is an addictive substance.
Society has brilliantly manipulative marketing around alcohol. What society is actually doing is masking a harmful poisonous substance as the elixir of life! Littered across every media platforms are memes, commercials, and tshirts, with the prases “because no good story ever started with someone eating a salad”, “rose all day”, “there’s a reason why sober and so bored sound the same”, “bring two bottles because it’s better to be safe than sober”, “wine, how classy people get wasted”, along with a million more. Hell, I used to reblog the same things! One of my favorites? “I’m not slurring, I’m speaking in cursive!” But when the druken veil lifts, it’s amazing the ridiculous view society has surrounding alcohol. It’s exhausting.
I just started reading The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray and she brings up a brilliant point. She mentions that the definition of sobriety in the dictionary includes words such as not affected by alcohol, serious, solemn, muted, grave, strict, no-nonsense, severe, conservative, unadventurous, quiet, drab, and plain. While the antonyms include drunk, lighthearted, sensational, and emotional. Sobriety sounds like it sucks! The hell with that! I want to be fun and lighthearted not boring, unadventurous, and solemn!!
Well, I can’t speak for anyone else but I know sure as I’m alive that none of the words associated with the term sober apply to me except not affected by alcohol. Catherine Gray says, in her opinion, the word sober should be defined as not affected by alcohol, bright, joyful, serene, dazzling, authentic, non-intoxicated, thoughtful, kind, quick-witted, chilled, clever, adventurous, excited, capable, and fun. THERE YOU GO!!! YES!!! THAT’S MORE LIKE IT!!
Now, even before I got sober, even before the thought entered my mind that it was something I wanted/needed to do, I always marveled at those in sobriety, whether they chose not to drink because of an issue or because they simply chose to stop. When I was still drinking, I described people who didn’t drink as people that have a genuine glow and that they radiate. The qualities I saw in people who didn’t drink are qualities that I envied and that I knew were somewhere inside of me but I was having trouble finding. And now that I don’t drink, guess what? The comments that I have recieved from people are:
- You look so happy
- You are glowing
- You radiant
- You were always a beautiful girl but now you look amazing.
Some of these comments are from people who know I’m sober and some that don’t. But the reason I get these comments is not just because I’m sober. It’s also because of what sobriety has given me – freedom, courage, confidence, the ability to pursue my passions in life, a healthy body/mind/spirit, joy, and the ability to live an authentic uninhibited life. I choose to live a sober life. I also choose to live a life that is extraordinary, amazing, and passionate.
Check out the book, The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray!
Be Sober, Be Happy! 