Corking the Bottle

Don't think you "could get away with drinking some now." You can't. I can't either. Ever. “Alcohol ruined me financially and morally, broke my heart and the hearts of too many others. Even though it did this to me and it almost killed me and I haven't touched a drop of it in seventeen years, sometimes I wonder if I could get away with drinking some now. I totally subscribe to the notion that alcoholism is a mental illness because thinking like that is clearly insane.” ―  Craig Ferguson,  American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot

A 10-year-old boy in Louisville committed suicide last week. Apparently he couldn't stand the bullying and saw no other escape. Many with substance abuse problems feel the same way. Alcohol and drugs bully them to the point where they no longer can stand the misery. This was posted to Facebook: The Alcoholic Next Door  shared a  post . Yesterday at 7:35 AM  ·  I'll never forget the first time I actually thought about killing myself. That is a really dark place to be. Alcohol and drugs are powerful and they can really take your mind and body to places you never imagined. I remember feeling really trapped. I didn't want to stop drinking but everything in my life was telling me I needed help. I couldn't process what to do and I'll never forget that thought coming through my head of... maybe it would just be easier if I killed mys elf. Man that's messed up. It's in these moments when you realize how powerful the mind...

I just started reading The Road Less Traveled . I read it years ago, but because the cover calls it "The Timeless Classic," I gave myself permission to read it again, especially since it was the old struggling me and not the new joyful me that read it before. The author is the late M. Scott Peck. Here is a short video that summarizes some lessons from the book.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_cuVMC7NcI In the introduction, Dr. Peck tells how slowly the first printing of his book filled shelves. Eventually, word of mouth popularized it via different routes. "One of them was Alcoholics Anonymous. Indeed, the very first fan letter I received began, 'Dear Dr. Peck, you must be an alcoholic!' The writer found it difficult to imagine that I could have written such a book without having been a long-term member of A.A. and humbled by alcoholism." I'm just a few pages into the first chapter but I like the following advice. He tells of a woman who hated her...