Today marks 6 years of sobriety.
On the journey, I've learned what caring for myself actually means.
In the past 6 years, I've learned how to make hard decisions and stand by those decisions.
I learned there is a line between "a little treat once in awhile" and "mindless self indulgence."
I'm learning that "I wanna see you eat, just not at my table" is a better way of dealing with people who hurt me.
I'm learning that acceptance doesn't solve my problems. Taking life as it is, not as I want it to be keeps me grounded and allows me to solve problems with what's available, not what I wish I had.
I'm learning that impermanence can be a good thing. Nothing lasts forever, and I've learned how to appreciate instead of attach.
I'm learning that in the words of Stephen King, "You just couldn't get hold of the things you had done and turn them right again. Such power might be given to the gods, but it was not given to men and women, and that was probably a good thing. Had it been otherwise, people would probably die of old age still trying to rewrite their teens."
And I'm learning that Alanis Morrissette was correct too:
"You live, you learn, you love, you learn
You cry, you learn, you lose, you learn
You bleed, you learn, you scream, you learn"
And it's a great day to be clean, sober, and ALIVE!
