5 things I learned from being sober in italy
1. You REALLY DO NOT need a glass of wine in your hand to see, feel, and taste all of the beauty and sensations that a trip to Italy has to offer!! If anything, drinking will make the landscape more dull, the sun less bright, the conversation less deep and thoughtful. You won't have as much room in your belly, or taste for the food. You will sleep more of the time away, and have a headache while trying to take it all in.
2. The anxiety that comes from traveling abroad is nearly gone! The little things that might have bothered you in the past, were a manifestation of the anxiety that the drinking cycle can cause. Small spaces? Not a concern. Stuck on an airplane for an extended period of time?...great!..sobriety has given me time to develop new hobbies, businesses, passions that I can do while sitting for 9 hrs on a plane. Driving from place to place?...I used to dread that because I had a tinge of a hangover each morning that set off nausea on a car or train ride, that then set off anxiety.
3. I am fun and funny without drinking. My husband is fun and funny without drinking. I have known this for a while, but 8 days with the same person can get dull without the addition of a little somethin'?? NOPE! Don't need a thing. We've got this...just being ourselves. I know the same is true for you!
4. The time goes much more slowly when you don't drink…You know when people come back from a great trip and say "It just went too fast" or "wish it could have been longer" ....you won't feel that way! You will feel like you took every single morsel of it all in. You feel like you have the day to feel good, hike, relax, eat, and explore. The time doesn't fly by in a blink like it does when you're drinking...because when you're drinking it's all a bit hazier, a blur, and sometimes we even forget parts of it completely. Weird. Who wants to do that with their long awaited, expensive, extraordinary vacation experience? ...or their life in general?
5. You shouldn’t make choices today that are based off future fears. In other words, do not stop yourself from anything that serves you today, because you are worried about how things will play out in the future. I should have never let the fear of "how will I ever go to Italy and not drink" stop me from my sober curiosities. Your mind and body are intuitive and send you signals every day! They may come as anxiety, problems, something just not working over and over in your life. Those signs are there for a reason, and trying to guide and direct you. Don't let fear of change or the unknown stop you from taking action in your one wild and precious life. You are much stronger and more capable than you think!
