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Hello, fellow thinker!
I started to write a letter on Intensity, aiming to describe the concept of withstanding intense work over a long period and how it can lead to growth, both professionally and personally. However, as I began writing, I found myself unable to cohesively put the idea together.
Therefore, I decided to put Intensity on pause and write about another topic instead.
Thus, please enjoy this letter on Change.
Sometime around 2008, I was riding the D train to Brooklyn and reading a book called The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn. Rohn poetically explains the parallels between life and the changing seasons. A great read that I highly recommend.
It was the first time I truly realized that things don't stay the same.
The book is a poetic journey through life, the seasons we live through, and the constant changes we experience. I found the book in the office where I worked and picked it up one day to give it a read. I often read on the train, commuting from client to client, and home to work. Every morning, I'd wake up, commute to work, read, then read some more on the way back. My commute consumed a lot of my time, and reading was my consolation. That was the part about commuting that I liked.
That has changed for me.
Now, I rarely read books on the train; instead, I read them on the treadmill—a fine substitute, if I must say so myself.
The other day, my daughter asked me what my favorite color was, and I realized I have always answered "Green." Green has been part of my identity since I was a child. Green is the color of money. The grass is green. But then I thought about it and realized that I like purple more. Can I do that?
Can I change my favorite color? I think I can. So, I did. I'm a big Purple fan now.
“You must be the change you want to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi
Another recent change has been in my thinking about my recovery journey. I find it harder to remember the details of my daily struggles with urges. Enough time has passed since I've had the urge to drink that I just don't think about it that much anymore. My sobriety as a lifestyle, yes, I think about that all the time still. I believe that the roots of my sobriety have grown deep and the foundation of my determination to stay alcohol-free is solid.
My gunas are well balanced. 🧘🏻Now I focus on finding new ways to stimulate myself through meaningful experiences with my family.
It happened over two years of purposeful living, goal-oriented decision-making, and health-oriented activities that changed me into who I was aiming to be.
Some of you have asked me how I can keep coming up with new letters every week, and I was confident that I had plenty of reserve ideas in the bank, but it turned out that I had already written about everything I had prepared in advance.
The Sober Thinker started with everything I had learned about recovering from alcoholism, the tools I discovered, and all the lessons I learned. Now that I’ve covered so many topics, I begin a new chapter: The thoughts that come as I journey into the uncharted waters of sobriety that lie ahead are novel to me, and I will share them along the way in my journey through the seasons of my life.
My wife and I were driving home from a gathering with our friends, and I told her that December 4th, 2021, was my second birthday. It was when a new life began for not just me, but for our whole family. Indira said that was the most important moment of our lives that impacted our well-being as a family.
That was a moment to pause.
To acknowledge that we can recover and grow and change.
What would you like me to write about in the future? Your suggestion may appear in one of my letters and when I get to 50 letters, I’ll republish them all in a book. 🙂
Keep thinking, my friends!
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