Just for today,
I choose not to drink.
When you make the decision to live a slightly different life,
One where alcohol doesn't take up your time,
Money or energy,
You will feel slightly different about yourself.
Maybe you have taken a long time getting to this point,
Perhaps you've had a few false starts,
And maybe now really is your moment.
You are not broken.
You don't have to have a grand war story or a massive dumpster fire of a rock bottom.
You can quietly make a choice not to drink and see it through.
Are you in a place of internal conflict at the moment,
Where one side sounds like you really are ready to stop right now,
And yet the other side sounds like you're not that bad really?
You probably know deep down what you want or need to do next.
Being untethered,
Undecided and in between is unsettling for our souls.
Knowing we are not yet who we are going to be,
But also knowing we are leaving behind who we were is challenging.
We can begin to think,
Feel and behave in accordance with our new non-drinking selves,
But we might still grieve our old selves and the way we used to deal with our thoughts and our feelings.
There's an area in between spaces,
Transient places,
Compartments,
Corridors and chrysalises.
It's where you move from one place to another,
The liminal space.
It's where change happens.
Sometimes we go into a period of change with our eyes wide open,
And sometimes we only know we've been there when we are well out the other side.
Transformation,
Transition,
Questioning and evaluating happens in the liminal space.
You can know that you are ready for something different,
But not know if you are really old or brave enough to take the actions.
What if you try but fail?
What if,
What if,
What if you try and succeed?
Success only ever comes from trying in the first place.
The liminal space is a gathering point,
A place to consider all that is laid before you on the other side and pull together the resources you need for the next bit of your exciting journey.
Inaction is okay until you've made some firm decisions and then you challenge yourself to step forward and away from whatever it was that was keeping you stuck where you were.
If you are feeling a bit stuck,
A bit untethered,
Undecided or in between,
Try calling this time the liminal space instead and trust that you are moving through it.
Can you find comfort in the idea that you are moving in the right direction?
Liminal spaces close or come to an end eventually.
It won't always feel like this.
You are becoming more ready with every passing day.
What do you need or want physically,
Emotionally or spiritually today?
What can you possibly do to meet those needs?
What are the thoughts that you don't need to worry about at this moment in time?
Can you write them down and come back to them another day?
Ask yourself,
How can I comfort myself today?
What would feel truly nice for me?
Can you start to find other people who believe in you and your capacity to change?
Surround yourself with people who are a few steps further along the path that you would like to be on and follow them and what they are doing.
Be inspired and take action my friend.
Now is your moment.
