I often get asked how in the world do I work in venue after venue, weekend after weekend around all the drinking and alcohol and STILL stay sober.....I'm not gonna preach, I'm just gonna tell you what works for me in the hopes that it will give those who ask, have a better understanding. Some of the most common questions are:
Doesn't it bother you? • ANSWER: "NO"....My "obsession" by the grace of God, has been removed. I had to accept the fact that although other people can drink in a social manor and put it down when they have had enough, I'M NOT NOW NOR WILL I EVER BE ONE OF THEM! ACCEPTANCE IS THE KEY... I was never you'd call a social drinker...I now see I was a binge drinker, I drank to get rid of my problems, I drank to celebrate, I drank to take away anger and pain...I drank for every reason under the sun EXCEPT just to be social....I now realize that I can keep my sobriety intact as long as I do not have that FIRST drink, continue to use the tools I have been given and believe in a Power greater than myself. The world is NOT going to quit drinking or selling alcohol just because I have the problem and I don't expect that...It's my problem to deal with and as long as I don't choose to take that first drink, it's not really a problem any more.
•Don't you get tempted being around it? •ANSWER: Do I get an occasional "itch?" "Yes" but with faith, keeping the reality of my past actions very clear in my head and the consequences that WILL surely follow, that "Itch" goes away as fast as it comes. I remember all to clearly the person I become when I drink, and there is NO temptation to go back to being that person whatsoever. I don't go out to the venues / parties unless I have a legitimate reason for being there...in other words, I don't go out to party...If I'm working, I do my job then leave...It's really just that simple. I am never alone and have a very strong support system around me, and on the occasion that it does start to bother my brain, I remove myself from the situation at once.
•Am I cured? •ANSWER: "Hell no!" LOL I'll NEVER be cured, but again, as long as I use the tools I've been blessed to have been given, believe in my Higher Power, continue to do the next right thing, and watch my ass with regard to my old ways of thinking and doing things, the chances of my ever going back are slim to none. Drinking for me today is a CHOICE and one I CHOOSE not to do. Back then it wasn't a choice for me..it was a way of life that I couldn't control. I used to think that my "ways" weren't a problem, I now see them as just that....A HUGE PROBLEM. After I sucked down that first drink, I was a goner..I was done for, and I became out of control...I see that for what it is today, I accept the fact that I can NEVER drink again because once I suck down that first one, the disease kicks right back in with a vengeance and I'll be done for. I could go on and on and on, but the point I'm trying to make is this: Once I'd gotten my head out of my ass and ACCEPTED the reality that I'd had a problem, I did what I needed to to to correct that problem. I now have the option to control my disease, it no longer controls me as long as I keep doing what is necessary. It's no longer a life / death struggle for me as long as I don't drink that first one.....I am aware today, I have faith today and I am no loner the broken individual I once was...Therefore, Being around it today doesn't bother me, because I am no longer the person who NEEDED it for acceptance, I'm no longer the person who NEEDED it to cope with whatever came my way, I'm no longer the person who NEEDED it to feel alive....In short, I'm just no longer that person. I now know I can get through whatever crosses my path without the false strength of what's in a bottle...I now know that if I go back to my old ways, it WILL kill me because let's face it, my consumption was way beyond what any one person should consume. Today I have INNER strength, today I have INNER peace and I no longer have a reason or desire to run. I deal with life on life's terms, and above all I NEED to remember the person I used to be, the person I have no desire to go back to and.....SOBRIETY IS ALWAYS THE SOLUTION REGARDLESS OF THE PROBLEM....NOTHING I WILL EVER ENCOUNTER WILL EVER BE OVERCOME, IF I TAKE THAT FIRST DRINK!
February 22, 2012 By: Brooklyn Wade aka AJ Menendez