Addiction & Recovery

I used to be a heavy whiskey drinker. But that habit just fell away from me. Good thing too, because when I stopped heavy drinking, I stopped having grand mal seizures. Yike! I never swant to have one of those again! This morning while out shopping, the thought occurred to get a 5th of bourbon at this great liquor store, but I let the thought pass.

I'm a Buddhist, and I meditate every day. For about 15 years, I worked on my anger, its causes, its harm to others, and how to rise above anger. Now I meditate on emptiness, impermanence, and loving kindness towards others. I'm still an annoying asshole at times, and after 45 years of meditation, I consider myself still a beginner.

I'm not a Christian, I'm a Buddhist, but I can still enjoy the season's traditions without buying into the dogma. Jesus wasn't born in the winter, he was born in the Spring. We know this because the New Testament tells us "There were shepards in the fields, watching their flocks by night." Wrong. Sheep in winter are penned up somewhere eating hay. There's no green grass in the fields in winter. Having been an alpaca rancher with 50 acres of pasture, and I can assure you there's not much to forage in the fields in winter. But You can verify this for yourself by going outside and looking at your front yard. In 325 AD Pope Julius 1st decreed that henceforth, Christmas would be celebrated on Dec 25. This was to undermine the pagan celebrations of winter solstice, especially Roman Saturnalia. But that's OK, winter Christmas is not a problem for me. I mention all this to point out not to take the dogma too seriously. Just enjoy the festivities. Enjoy seeing happy people.

What else I do is tune in my local all classical FM radio station, and listen to great Christmas music. I also bake cookies, and maybe some pies, and sweet rolls.

I can recommend a great non-alcoholic festiive drink, sparking apple cider. Looks like champaign, but it's just bubbly apple cider. It's also a lot cheaper than champaign.

Cheers and Merry Christmas!

I'm 73 and most of my relatives and friends are dead, or holed up at home to avoid getting Covid. But even so, I got a few Christmas cards out. Yesterday, I left a big box of groceries on my cousin's doorstep. She and her partner got Covid, but are recovering. But I really enjoyed getting them a Christmas gift of fruit & veggies, and good bread, kefir, some muffins. I had the pleasure of giving a Christmas gift.

So if you want to be happy, try doing something nice for someone with no expectation of getting anything back.

May all beings know the joy of appreciating the success, happiness, and well-being of others.