Hello Sobriety

January 26, 2023. That's the day my dad passed away. Twenty-eight days ago. Almost a month already. Jeesh. It's hard to believe. Even though we knew it was coming, it seems you can never fully prepare for the death of a loved one. Let alone a parent. My dad suffered from Alzheimers. He had been progressing further and further into the depths of this illness for nearly seven years. But it wasn't until he got sick with covid in August of 2021 that his health really began to decline. You see, up until then, my dad could still get around and mostly care for himself. I say that loosely because he still needed quite a bit of assistance, but not like he did after covid. To make a long story short, my dad was hospitalized twice while sick. I was the only one of my entire local family that wasn't sick, so the hospital kindly allowed me to stay with him. My dad's condition would not have understood, nor navigated, this week-long stay in the hospital by himself. And while it w...

A few years ago, I spent two months in India. Six weeks living in an Ashram in Rishikesh, studying and practicing yoga. And the last two were spent traveling around a bit before returning to home to the states. While there, I met with two astrologists. Astrologists are big in India. After all, in India, astrology is regarded more as a science, presumably on par with biology, astronomy and physics. But that’s not what this is about… back to my readings. Both astrologists were in Rishikesh but non-related. As a matter of fact, one was the owner of a jewelry shop that I had just happened upon and while chatting, he took my hand and began reading me. Both astrologists told me many things that were wildly accurate. With absolutely no way for them to have known that about me. I mean, come on, I’m an American in India for crying out loud. They have truly never met me, nor had they ever met anyone who knew me. But still. They were point on with many specific and accurate statements (some way t...

They say in the Bible (I think it’s in the Bible) - what’s done in the dark will be brought to the light .  And while my darkness of drinking was very cozy and happy in the privacy of my own home, that inner voice brought it to the light. Every time I went to the liquor store. Every time I poured a drink. Every. Single. Stinking. Time. “You should quit drinking.” That’s what it would say. Like a whisper in my ear. Over and over again. “You should quit drinking.” So I did. For a short while. But it was hard. Like really hard. Like white-knuckle hard. And after a few weeks, I drank again. And it was good. Really good.   But that voice never stops speaking until you listen. That voice kept whispering “you should quit drinking.” So again, I quit. And again, I drank. And I’d quit. And I’d drink. Back and forth like this for years… until recently. This time, I just quit. This time, there was no plan. There was no quit date set or some big farewell drink. I just stopped ...