I’ve been thinking about drinking lately. Not while working my telecommuting customer service job, but during the down times while sitting on my fabulous red sofa with the TV on and working on some project with either my laptop or iPad. I’m no spring chicken and can’t handle alcohol like I used to. Same goes for copious amounts of sugar.
This increased desire to drink is a response to surviving the coronavirus pandemic for over six months with all the growing pains of rapidly transitioning into a new world that Rona built. She’s like an uninvited guest whose presence has caused me to bleach everything, wear masks more often outside of costuming, and spend far more time grinding my cerebral wheels by myself.
She’s truly overstayed her welcome. I’m so ready to kick her out of this world. But like past colonizers, she’s here to stay as if she has a right. About the only good thing to Rona’s presence is that she’s shined a light on societal inequities.
There’s always been bad shit and some people denouncing it, but now there are more witnesses. Some deny that one of the factors of the inequities is systemic racism because if they acknowledged that they may feel compelled to do something about it, starting with changing themselves.
But back to drinking. At the most, I’ll have two drinks, usually on the weekends. One with lunch and another with dinner. Occasionally, I’ll have an in-person happy hour with a friend at their place or mine. Nonetheless, my belief is if I pair drinking with a meal or socializing, I won’t slip down the lushy rabbit hole into a drinking problem. Awareness is the first step, right?
I’m working on a new angle. One I could have implemented prepandemic, but of course the hamster wheel had to stop spinning before I realized this: take joy in every day things. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I take a deep breath and reflect on what good the present activity brings me. Usually I can find something. Anything to ward off the flood of negative emotions.
Another thing that helps is thinking, “I’ve got all the time in the world.” As much as I like to flit from one project to the next, I’m making progress in due time. My new goal for everything in life is maintaining a satisfied mind.
That doesn’t depend on any form of government or politician. No form of religion nor interpretation of god. It’s free and I don’t have to order it from Amazon. Best of all, no drug, not even the drinkable drugs, satisfy my mind without adverse side effects like discovering positivity.
Now, I’m the pioneer of those treasures called “silver linings.” And it doesn’t matter if my discovery is actually a rediscovery because any bout of depression or anxiety feels brand new during this period where time is syrupy. Whenever negative emotions creep into the present, it’s time to go treasure-hunting. And fortunately for me, I’ve got all the time in the world.