Walking the Dog

No this isn’t a metaphor for some esoteric concept – I’m just talking about walking the dog.  Why? Because I love walking the dog. It’s one of the simple pleasures of life.  It’s relaxing and it makes him happy.  I enjoy seeing neighbors and other dogs.  There is something about watching how a dog interacts with the environment – it’s so straightforward and uncluttered.

It’s so important to find simple pleasures in sobriety.  Life is good. You are not drunk. Hopefully that means you are not in trouble with someone for some thing. It means you are living your life with open eyes, and hopefully, an open heart.

Find your simple pleasures as quickly as you can – they heal the heart, the mind, and help soothe the anxieties and tensions of the day.  They can be as simple as a long bath with good music or as complicated as skiing down a black-diamond slope. The important thing is to find both kinds – simple daily pleasures and those that take a bit more planning and practice.

Learn a language you’ve always meant to learn. Try a new recipe. Build a model ship. Learn to play an instrument or pick up one you used to love to play before drugs or alcohol became more important.  Call and friend and go to a good movie or museum.  Treat yourself to a solo lunch at a nice restaurant (I think lunch alone in public is a great exercise in learning how to feel comfortable just being with you – and to stop worrying about what everyone else is thinking).

If you already walk the dog – walk for a little longer – he’ll love you for it and you might find that space, that place where chattering thoughts drift away and you are just perfectly in the moment.