It’s been about three weeks since my last blog. I have been concentrating my mind on quite a few things such as planning a few upcoming trips, joining a gym and getting ready for an Appalachian trail hike.

My previous blogs covered addictions. Part of it was investigating the Buddhist Five Precepts, the other part… I always do crazy things like this, such as dietary changed. This time around I wanted to take on some perceived addictions, those being alcohol and caffeine.  I found it rather easy to quit those addictions, as opposed to the difficulty quitting smoking 10+ years ago.

Quitting caffeine was relatively easy but the withdrawal was somewhat horrible. Headaches and sleepiness for less than a week. Every few mornings I wake up looking forward to a cup of coffee, and then I remember, I quit caffeine! Some days, the scent of my wife grinding coffee beans has me craving a cup.

Quitting drinking has been easy. The difficulty has been parties and dinners. We went to Ruth’s Chris Steak House and the wine list sat on the table. No matter what restaurant we go to, I always loved going through the wine list, looking to try something new. When we ordered dessert, I would have loved a coffee with Amaretto! (Double whammy). We also had a dinner party at our house and I purchased wine for the special occasion, poured glasses for other people but was fine without having one myself… but the thought still entered my mind… this would have been a time when I would enjoy a glass with all my guests. Last year when I quit for three months, we went to a Jazz Concert at a Botanical Garden, they were serving wine and I said to myself “had this been a month ago, I would be enjoying a glass myself”.

Do I feel any different? Not really, my intention was to keep my wits about me and to be able to be in control (rather than have something delude my thinking). I guess the only difference is the handful of times I woke up the next day with a tad bit of a hang-over; which required coffee and Excedrin Migraine (which has caffeine).

The moral of the story, I don’t need something to wake me in the morning and I don’t need something to relax me, or to make me more sociable at a party. I can be pretty nutty without any chemical enhancements 🙂 I like being the person I wish to be.

 

 

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