Another Dry January

Books | Project Ninety | Training

31 January 2022 - Adetswil

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For the third year running I've taken a month off from alcohol. The first year it was out of necessity as I was unemployed and living in a tent in the woods and needed to cut expenses. You think your 2020 was shitty... But the past couple years it hasn't been out of financial necessity as much as to practice a more ascetic lifestyle. "Renounce and enjoy" as Eknath Easwaran used to say. Religious folks practice something similar, like for example Catholics during Lent or Muslims during Ramadan. Giving up something for a time makes you appreciate other things more, in addition to the thing you've given up. It's also good to give up something to see if you really need it. If I really needed alcohol to cope with life I probably wouldn't have made it through my dad's funeral, being snubbed by Brittan and Alora, getting Covid, etc. this month. Running is my real coping mechanism - I don't know how I'll deal with having to give that up one day. I see guys with birthdates in the 1940's at most long trail races I do though, so I figure I've got about another 40 years left before I'll have to solve that problem. Last year I tried to give up meat during a different month and it didn't go over very well. I don't think I'll be trying that experiment again anytime soon, but it was certainly educational. I'd definitely recommend trying a similar experiment to anyone - add or subtract something from your life for a month and see what it's like.