Walking the Trail

One of the analogies that has helped me greatly along my trail (or path) to finding my freedom from alcohol was to envision myself actually walking (or in my case riding) on a peaceful trail in the woods.

Imagine yourself on a perfect day, a perfect temperature, with a gorgeous canopy of trees dangling over the trail and just sufficient underbrush to provide the perfect padding under foot. You are walking in a certain direction towards a self-driven goal, and are using the sun, and only the sun as your directional compass. Of course, you are not the only person enjoying such a tranquil, beautiful experience. Everyone else that you have met or may meet is also walking in the same forest, but each on their own unique, personal trail.

As it pertains to alcohol, only about 20% of people are actually walking in the same (alcohol-free, AF) direction as you are, while most of the trail walkers are going in the opposite direction, which is perfectly fine. Now, you will notice that occasionally someone else’s trail may run directly parallel to yours, or may cross yours, and you may even interact with them for a time, but inevitably their trail will diverge from yours and you will both continue on your respective journeys.

Sometimes, you will encounter a large rock, or a tree will fall in front of you on your trail, forcing you to decide whether to climb over it, or turn around. Inevitably, you know deep down that climbing over this obstacle (i.e. urge/craving) will be what allows you to keep going in the direction that you have chosen. Occasionally, the sun will disappear behind a cloud, and it might even start to pour rain, and you will lose your bearings and be forced to hunker down until the sun comes out again. Again, this is perfectly okay, and to be expected. The further you go down the trail, the more people you will find taking notice of your direction, and some might even turn and decide to walk along side you for a stretch.

Some of you may find that you become temporarily disoriented and unsure of your direction and will turn and take a few steps in the other direction. The important thing to remember is that if this happens, even if it happens regularly, if you regain your bearings and return to your AF trail, you are not starting from the edge of the forest anymore. You are so much further down the trail than you were when you first set out.

Finally, inevitably you will come to a fork in the trail, and you will need to decide whether to continue down your AF trail, or veer back onto the more commonly travelled one. I have learned that there is no reason to fear the less-traveled trail, as the most amazing things can be discovered when you take that chance. (Besides, you can always turn around and double back at any time.)

You can add in more and more layers and make your trail as elaborate or as simple as you need it to be (remember, it’s your trail!), but I've discovered that whenever unwanted thoughts surrounding drinking emerge (and they do, even several years into my own personal AF journey), simply closing my eyes and visualizing myself riding down this beautiful tree-lined trail can make all the difference.