Since I have stopped drinking my mind clarity and thought patterns have been so much clearer and better. I realise now that I was living in a fog, a cloudy drinking infused blur.

It has occurred to me recently that although most people do drink regularly, there are only a small percentage of people who abuse alcohol, and themselves daily. It is most definitely the minority.

Travelling has broadened my mind once again in the last 6 months. I have travelled widely around the world since I was 18, but have been particularly restless over the last 3 years. I like to keep on the move, flying, road trips, buses, cruises, paragliding, I really have been busy moving around.

I find when I move, my mind is clearer, as I move at a fast pace around the world like a roadrunner cartoon (think legs spinning furiously creating a huge ball of dust), I feel like my mind can process my thoughts, ideas and plans more efficiently when I move fast, faster the better. Think speeding on the Nullarbor in Australia, huge amount of clarity!

Since I have stopped drinking over the last 6 months, I have travelled around Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK and Europe. I was pleased to meet many people who do not drink, or if they do, it was rarely. I did not feel like the odd one, and I did not feel like I was missing out on anything.

To be honest I enjoyed my early nights in the comforts of my home or temporary abode, and I also enjoyed reading a copious number of books, with the clarity of mind to remember them better and enjoy them sometimes late into the night.

I needed less sleep. I could survive on 4 hours at times. Of course I would have a longer sleep after a few days, but without hangovers, I really felt like maximising more of my awake time.

My Mum used to always complain about sleeping. She would always feel like it was a waste of time to sleep.

“Just imagine all the things you could do if you didn’t sleep?” She would say.

My Mum met a man once at one of her jobs, and he had a condition where he never slept. Maybe one or two hours a night he would rest lightly, maybe he was a vampire? Who knows, but Mum thought it was fantastic. He worked a day job and a night job, because he didn’t need to sleep! She was every envious of his abilities.

She would often stay up late into the night and rise early every morning. In fact I never saw my Mum sleep in, nor my Dad. They were both very energetic people, and they knew the morning was the most productive and best part of the day. I have learnt from their experience, I also value the early morning crisp fresh air, deathly silence only broken by a chirping bird.

Why do people want to live in oblivion? Why do people drink to forget their reality? Mainly because they do not like their reality and they do not want to deal with their problems. We all have issues to face, and trust me, alcohol does absolutely nothing towards making progress for life change and improvement.

I realise now after time, that many people live under this fog, an oblivious version of reality, and this is how the higher powers may like us to be. If people actually had the acuity to see what they were doing with their lives, imagine the progress and accomplishments we could all make? Alcohol keeps us numb and dumb, harsh I know, but when you really think about it, it is true. Some clarity can come from drinking, in moderate amounts, after a lengthy heart warming soul connected discussion with a good companion or the like, sure then we may make progress in our minds. But the motivation to take action towards previous nights good intentions, are usually sadly thwarted by morning, when it all seems too hard.

Sure it is hard to face reality sometimes. Life is full of challenges and issues, we all have to face, this is our human condition. But the reality is the sooner you face them, listen to yourself and follow your instincts, you will be so much better off.

Empowerment comes from following your intuition, following your heart, being true to yourself and doing what is best for you, with high consideration of your loved ones around you. You can not be responsible for other peoples happiness, yours alone is enough to deal with.

I wish you the very best in making empowering choices and changes. Life is full of opportunities to grow and evolve, look around you and decide how you want to live your life, to be happy, free, and satisfied you are making the very most of your precious life.

With love,
Anita xx