Sober after The Holidays

It's been nine years since I have taken a drink of alcohol, and I have to say that a holiday without alcohol is ok with me. After the first few years, it was strange to not drink during the entire Holiday binge. I missed out a lot of Christmas's and was a mellow drunk back in the day anyway, so most did not know I was wasted. Thank God another year is about to come I guess. I can't stop it but I can make changes to my behavior that need fixed/ One thing is to find more to do with my spare time beside housework, get involved and socialize, I am very closet minded and comfortable in my little own world, which can be a hazard to my health, I get to thinking too much. This is called boredom I think, here it has been almost ten years and I love life, need to change my personal habits such as sitting on the couch and watching TV and resting. Maybe it is just a case that I am not used to knowing how to rest? I was always on the go when I was younger I am 55 and a man and I have been thinking about writing a book as a hobby and of course for the money. I also think my book can provide some people with insight into life. So it would be a positive thing to do, except my Internet Gambling gets in the way. Yeah, been playing for about 8 years and lost more than I made and this is another addiction I have to address this year.

Addiction is all around my body, whether it is chocolate cake or steaks, I can make an addiction that is hard to break out of anything I do. This is built in every addicted person's body I hear with alcoholism. How to treat it is by AA terms by going to meetings and reading the Big Book. I have to say they might be partly right but it is me who has to do the work on changing constantly and it is not a chore just an inconvenience to me. You may find that I am on a level with you and I am just telling the story of your own life in a fashion. I am sober and I can communicate, and I am smart. I just make a lot of mistakes, some on purpose to see the outcome and some I did not even know I was saying or doing. The holiday sober look for me was normal. I am very shy around my family, maybe it is guilt from the years of making an ass out of myself. I am just me and that is all we can be. The good, bad, and ugly. Enjoy the new year and I hope to be starting my book soon, once finished I will let you know. It is a self-help book for those who are looking for work but just don't know how to go about this.I have a lot of tips and advice that I have come around the last few years.See you in 2019!! Please comment if you like. Chris 12/29/2018

Nine years of Sobriety and 5 Months of CBD Buds

Like I have said before I write this journal or blog for myself. I am not trying to impress anyone or tell my whole life story. Recently for the past five or six months, I have been trying CBD , which if you do not know what it is let me explain.
CBD from Hemp is what I was smoking, it does not get a person high but it does have healing properties for much medical use. Now, what medical use did I use it for was anxiety or panic? I will say that I tried Vaping CBD, and I thought it did nothing. Then I found out you could buy this like Marijuana flowers or buds. I purchased the Buds legally at a Vape store in my city. I rolled up Hemp cigarettes and smoked a few hits over the span of the last few months. The funny thing is I felt like it was helping me with Panic and possibly was, or was it just that I missed the taste of real pot and the smell and buds were beautiful. The only problem is CBD is not regulated nor is specified what type of Nutrient, Hemp can be, plus the negative bonus of having .03% THC in Hemp plants can cause a false positive on a drug test.

Well, how the hell can they sell stuff like CBD and my city law is not doing anything about it, yet a federal law says it is legal but also illegal at the same time. I decided to completely stop smoking Hemp Buds the other day. They were not bothering me , however I did not want to start another addiction to a Nutrient, Drug, or whatever it is that is being sold all over the USA in disguise and too many questions of the legal authority to use or not use this CBD is not clear yet in Texas and many other states.

I will say I did not drink with my use but I am not sure where this may fit into my sobriety for nine years. Did I blow it by smoking Hemp? I am not sure, but I am thinking, No. It is my life and I got no high but I was curious and tried this as a medicine for my panic attacks.I do not think I can judge others for trying CBD as I have read everything good about it except for the .03% THC that might cause you to fail a drug test. Very confusing, any answers to this would be appreciated. Have a good day. Chris

Feelings and Sobriety, They do Exist

Feelings are very prevalent in our lives. There is nothing I do that does not involve a feeling of the sort. I use to try to block out my feelings with alcohol and drugs, but now being sober for almost 10 years, I have to deal with every single one ( Feelings). It's funny but I run from myself I believe so I don't have to face a feeling at certain times. This could be laying down on the couch with the TV running and not feeling a thing but comfort that I am not working and I am blessed to have a roof over my head. However, I talk a lot about being blessed when I write but when in reality I do not think about the spiritual experiences that have happened until I have usually done the task. Life is a trip and hopefully, you can follow my crazy mind, but this is my blog so I can be as crazy as I want.

I just got off a work trip and It is Saturday and I have been taking care of chores and errands that I did not get to do when I was out of town. I guess this is normal but I hate not being organized and when I came back home last night from work, I got busy and washed my clothes for the following week and did a few other things that need to be done in the future. I guess the feeling of living out of control does not appeal to me in my sobriety. I am obsessed with a clean house and a clean vehicle. I take good care of the..Chris
things I have, in the past I did not. Life changes so much when you sober up and when you take that one moment to think how good life really is now that your feelings get put into place, life gets better

Do You Test Sobriety?

 I am out of town, working and it seems to be a test of my sobriety when I travel. Whether I have to fly or drive and how far I have to go seem to fall in place. I know I will not drink but temptations to have a drink with a group of fellow workers are always there when I travel. I read the bible in the Hotels is what I do and I watch movies from my PC on their big screen TV in the rooms. I usually stay at 4 to 5-star hotels with a restaurant and bar located inside the place. I guess you could say I isolate myself, but in the end, I have no hangover in the morning and watching fellow workers come in smelling of alcohol makes me feel like I do the right thing. Change is what we had to do in order to preserve our sobriety, and change is what I had to do on trips and being tested on drinking.

It would be interesting to hear some of your stories in traveling sober? I would welcome these ideas from the reader of this blog. One thing I should do is find an AA meeting at night and get out of my room. However, I am tired from the day and do not want to get into traffic and weather so I do not usually do this. My bad I know. I do not feel very unusual for not drinking with my co-workers, I have to live my life and they have to live their own. It's just another test from God to see what Chris is going to accomplish on each journey in his life to stay sober. Nine years is a lot of years for me not to drink and it means I have tried and prayed about my sobriety for every day. It is ongoing and it is easy, but it can cause one to struggle with the evil ones.lol Chris

Sobriety How important is it?

I have been sober now over nine years, and I thought of this question this morning. Since I quit alcohol that many years ago, it really is not a part of my living life. I focus on other things like chores and work and knowledge about future events. I don't look back and regret my situation as much. Yes, I would have changed a few things in my last but maybe that is how my life was to be lived so I might live the future in a sober place and sober mind. I am not saying that sobriety is not important as it is the most important part of my life for me to be able to do my work and other things in life. Once you get a hold of living this way and understand that going back to living with alcohol is not going to he help in a positive manner with items that are depressing or negative then you have reached a cure. Yes, I said a cure for alcoholism is possible when you do not reach for the bottle in times of happiness and or sorrow, or either thinking of drinking. There have been thoughts of drinking but they are destructive thoughts and they go away very quickly. I never want to go back nine years from now and have to re-live what I have learned in these nine years.

I wish a part of my life was different and if I had not been alcoholic what would be the outcome. However, I do not think of this very much. You cannot go back in time only move forward with the power of god and the training and learning from AA that will teach you to stay away from dangers of drinking. Staying away from crowds that drink or old friends that drink is the best medicine I can offer. Yes, it can be lonely at times of celebration or when there is a loss of family life, however, if you believe in God you realize we will all die at some point in life that is a given. If we die sober that means we have done our best in the present to be the good law-abiding citizens for our lives. I think God is proud of us that take measures to lose weight if that is what we chose to stay healthy and then there are times where we do not have control such as the many cancers that kill so many good people and they did not bring about this problem as most alcoholics do have control over if they drink or drug. I don't buy it that we do not have control over our intake of certain substances we consume. I eat too many donuts in the morning at times than I back off cause I know it is not healthy for me. You learn a lot when you are sober even when you feel boredom come across, its how you deal with God and being lonely or hurting that will build you up as it has done for me and so many others. God Bless and Be Free from alcohol and start living a life that will make you smile.
Chris

Do you know God? Sobriety and Living

I am at a hotel room in Arlington, Texas and I have work to do here for 5 days. I really do not like going on trips where I am not home. I guess I have gotten older plus I don't drink so some of the other workers are out getting drunk as usual. I started to think about God and do I really know him. I assume I have a grasp on the spiritual outlet called God and the spirit but I seem to need him ore than ever at certain times for my sobriety and my sanity. I have nine years of no drinking and I don't think about drinking, but I do think and pray a lot more than ever. I seem to think I am unusual in that I have really no friends and a good job, but at my age, that is all I want. I want my family healthy and happy and when I am working I see they are very grateful for my sobriety because I never stayed with too many jobs before calling in sick from a night worth of beer. Now I sit in a hotel room all alone wondering what it would be like to be out drinking and then feeling like shit the next morning seems like a dreadful idea. My whole world would change and I cannot handle that, so I am writing to speak my mind. The Dallas Cowboys won today I think and that is wonderful cause they have not been that good, but do I really care, nope. Men are supposed to care about football, I like to play when I was younger but really have the slightest interest in Football now. I am in a good place just thought I would post on my blog, who knows maybe 5 nights in a row of blogging will keep my idle hands busy. Goodnight Chris

Sobriety and Being Alone

You are never alone. You might think so since there is no one in the house with you. But really, God is with you or your higher power is near you if you are sober right now. I thought about this since I am usually alone at night. However, I have a Labrador that I love and treat her like a human. plus the almighty spirit I call God, to whom sees my actions and keeps me from loneliness every single day. It takes a little bit of time to accept this. However, with myself and what I do for work, I know God is with me during the day and the night. He never runs away, he is in me. I'm not God but I believe the spiritual God I worship is inside me. That is how he can tell me when the oven is hot don't touch it with my hand. If I start thinking stupid drinking thoughts, he rids these almost immediately. I never thank him enough. I don't think a person could love his God as I do mine. You have to love yourself a little bit for God to come into your soul and speak to you. Maybe not words as much as actions from the spirit I pray to all the time. I am not ashamed of prayer or for whom I am praying for.

Yes, I pray for myself, just as long as it helps others. I pray for the world that believes in a higher power and for them to have what they desire. We all want to feel needed and loved. If you learn how to accept yourself for whom you are, the love shines inside out of your body. You turn into a good human to be around. Even if it's with your animal that loves you unconditionally, I believe they have a spirit that is a miracle from God that enables us to love animals. They are comforting and loving no matter how most people act. Ok, since this is my site I am going to plug my Website , I could use a sale or two. The prices are quite cheap, and free shipping. Ok,
I will stop at that, but please help a recovering alcoholic that is trying to spread the word of love with my prayers and my words. Have a nice day.