Take Your Time

In my last post, I wrote about questioning societal norms and pastimes. About how the message that popular culture, the media and advertising feeds us is that we are incomplete without buying, consuming and accepting what is being peddled to us as members of society.

The widely accepted view is that drinking is fun, solves all our problems, and helps us relax. If we decide to step off the drinking treadmill, we have a new landscape to explore, one of our own creation. One of the first things we notice is that drinking took up a lot of our time and energy. I have a drinking app called I Am Sober and I check it once in awhile. One of the things it tracks is how much time I’ve “saved” by not drinking. Currently, I have 2,517 hours that would have been spent drinking but now are for me to do whatever I desire.

My last post also mentioned the number of alcohol-related deaths last year as tracked by the Centers for Disease Control. When I looked up that statistic, it also went on to report on how drinking shortens one’s life, significantly. That these alcohol-related deaths shorten lives by an average of almost 29 years, for a total of 2.8 million years of potential life lost.

So by not drinking, I am not only extending my life, but giving myself time that I would’ve otherwise wasted being wasted. 2.8 million years of potential life lost each year in this country due to alcohol. That’s a lot of potential life.

Of course we all know the disclaimer that nothing in this life is guaranteed. That we could spend all of our time being healthy still end up with a terminal diagnosis, or become the victim of a freak accident. But by saying no to drinking alcohol excessively, we are signing on to claim those extra years, that potential life.

Which brings me back to how we spend our time. Most people agree that time passes quickly. I am really grateful about my decision to engage in life, rather than waste it. How we spend out time is a subject worthy of contemplation and intentional decision making. I know that there are things in life that make me feel good–being with my family, exercising, reading and writing, praying and meditating, gardening and being in nature–and these are what I try to prioritize. If I don’t spend enough time in these pursuits, that’s when I feel off balance, and a bit grumpy.

Of course we also have to make time for the non-negotiables that can feel like they gobble up our time: our responsibilities. When I begin to feel frustrated about the growing list of responsibilities in my day, or week or month, or life, I try to remember that it wont always be this way. That I wont always have a fulltime job and kids at home. That I need to tackle these responsibilities with an “attitude of gratitude,” because one day I may feel like I have too much time on my hands.

It’s funny, this life. Always an effort to remain content with where we are in our current circumstances. I do remind myself everyday, to appreciate the gift of time I’ve given myself in my sobriety. And to take my own sweet time in living it.

What about the rest of you who have accepted the gift of sobriety? How do you like to fill your time? Is time more valuable to you? Did you find new passions and interests or are you still searching?

Love and light to you.