Presently, Pleasantly, Sober.

(Surimi): Yes, Vatchi, Jim may be kidding himself, even sober. The denial part of his alcoholism seems to have pretty much receded. His old triggers are slowly becoming things he's dealing with on life's terms. His new triggers propel him forward in his sobriety. The trigger of sobriety itself to seek more sober and satisfying things. Call it the anti-trigger, if you will.

    Now, when his expectations and outcomes don't match, he no longer seeks solace in the drink. He's no longer in a "war on drugs". He's living in the solution. In recovery. Bar Rooms, his "cathedrals of consumption" are part of his living memory of his past.

    "Doing nothing is not an option," as he's heard expressed often enough in his recovery groups. Addiction is a patient disease.

    I think he has finally learned to "stick with the winners".


from All Drinking Aside (Rough Draft, Day 43)