Necessary Darkness

In this episode, we'll dive deep into the idea of necessary darkness and crossing the river of misery. We're going to be uncomfortable on this journey of life and transforming our relationship with alcohol, no matter what we do.We get to choose whether we want the discomfort of staying the same, or the discomfort of transformation.What You’ll Learn from this Episode:The one skill that we need to exit the drinking life. Why drinking less is simple, but not easy.How our thinking about the process gets us into trouble when things get difficult.What the river of misery is and what's on the other side of it.Why we need to choose between the misery of now and the misery of growth.The poem referenced in the Episode To love ourselves long-term is to attend a thousand funerals of the person we used to be. The person we are too exhausted to be any longer. The person we don’t recognize inside ourselves anymore. The person we grew out of. The person we never ended up growing into. We so badly want ourselves to get our spark back when it burns out, to become speedily found when we are lost. But it is not our job to hold ourselves accountable to the person we used to be. It’s our job to travel between each version and to honor what emerges along the way. Sometimes it will be an even more luminescent flame. Sometimes it will be a flicker that disappears and temporarily floods the room with a perfect and necessary darkness.To celebrate (the 25th Episode and beyond), I’m giving away a few things I can’t live without to some lucky listeners: $50 Amazon gift cards, and a brand-new pair of AirPods.Here’s what you want to do right now to sign up for your weekly, bite-sized coaching from Exit The Drinking Life:Subscribing in Apple PodcastsStep 1 To subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Click here to visit the Exit The Drinking Life Apple Podcast Webpage  - it will open in a new tab so these instructions will be accessible to you on the other tab. Then click on the “Listen on Apple Podcasts” button. This will launch Apple Podcasts on your computer and bring up the podcast.Step 2Click on the “Subscribe” button and you’re all set!You can also listen to the podcast via Spotify, Stitcher Radio, or wherever you get your podcasts.Step 3 - Review the Podcast is necessary for you to then enter to Win!I’ll be giving away $50 Amazon gift card and a pair of Apple AirPods to a couple of lucky listeners who review the podcast in Apple Podcasts.How to Enter: Once you’ve listened to an episode or two, click on the “Ratings and Reviews” link on the Exit The Drinking Life in Apple Podcasts to leave a review.Any review qualifies you to win: I want you to be honest, tell me what you think, and how I can help you better. Unfortunately, Apple Podcasts doesn’t release contact information for reviewers so please email me at [email protected] with the title of your review for your official entry. You can also screen shot your review and email it to me to qualify.  Thanks for listening!   agingflipped.com for more resources on aging with ease and more fulfillment.