#100DaySoberChallenge – Continuous Days in February 2023

February 14, 2023February 14, 2023 Belle 52 Comments

Hi there, happy valentine’s day. this seems like a good day to have a look back on where we’ve been, to see if it’s leading to where we want to go. Like, can you ‘get what you want’ by doing what you’ve been doing?

The goal for the #100DaySoberChallenge is continuous days sober. in the comments below, you can say what is the longest stretch of continuous days you’ve had so far IN FEBRUARY. Maybe your longest sober stretch is 7 days continuously, or you’re on day 14 today for February …

In order to create a safe space here, i’ll make some general recommendations that you can think about before you post:

Enter your continuous days sober for February 2020 (not your total days if you’ve been sober longer). this helps to create a more inclusive environment when we have a smaller focus on just february for now.
Start a new comment and talk about YOU, rather than commenting on other person’s share. When we read about other people we feel less alone; it helps more than “you got this” from a stranger. and often when we comment on each other’s posts, someone is left out, some comments get more likes, etc.
Make an effort to use positive (or neutral) language. You can say “I’ve had 6 continuous days in February” versus “I’m on day 5 again.” I’ll edit out the word ‘again’ if you post that (!)
Leave out mentions of specific kinds of alcohol, types, brands, and colours. if you mention that you miss booze, that’s fine. if you say ‘i miss a clear glass of blah blah’ i’ll very kindly remove the entire comment.
Put in a screen name when it asks for your ‘name’ and just a reminder that email addresses are NOT displayed (EVER). i also approve every comment before it is posted 🙂

look forward to seeing how you’re doing. hugs from me xo

#100DaySoberChallenge Day 31- Continuous Days – January 2023

January 31, 2023January 31, 2023 Belle 61 Comments

Hi there, so it’s end of January. Seems like a good day to have a look back on where we’ve been, to see if it’s leading to where we want to go (how’s that for a confusing sentence!).

The goal for the #100DaySoberChallenge is continuous days sober. in the comments, you can say what is the longest stretch of continuous days you’ve had in January. Maybe your longest sober stretch was 7 days continuously, or 18, or you’re working on today as the 31st continuous day.

In order to create a safe space here, i’ll make some general recommendations that you can think about before you post:

Enter your continuous days sober for January 2023 (not your total days if you’ve been sober longer). this helps to create a more inclusive environment when we have a smaller focus on just january for now.
Make an effort to use positive (or neutral) language. You can say “I’ve had 6 continuous days in January” versus “I’m on day 5 again.” I’ll edit out the word ‘again’ if you post that (!)
Leave out mentions of specific kinds of alcohol, types, brands, and colours. if you mention that you miss booze, that’s fine. if you say ‘i miss a clear glass of blah blah’ i’ll very kindly remove the entire comment.
Start a new comment and talk about YOU, rather than commenting on other person’s share. When we read about other people we feel less alone; it helps more than “you got this” from a stranger. and often when we comment on each other’s posts, someone is left out, some comments get more likes, etc.
Put in a screen name when it asks for your ‘name’ and just a reminder that email addresses are NOT displayed (EVER). i also approve every comment before it is posted 🙂

ok, i’ll start …

#100DaySoberChallenge Day 12 – Continuous Days

January 12, 2023January 12, 2023 Belle 130 Comments

i wanted to create this check-in space for today. the goal for the #100DaySoberChallenge is continuous days sober. in the comments, you can say how many continuous days you’ve had so far since January 1st. Maybe you’ve had 3 days continuously sober, or 8, or you’re working on today as the 12th continuous day?

In order to create a safe space here, i’ll make some general recommendations that you can think about before you post:

Enter your continuous days sober since january 1st (NOT your total days if you’ve been sober longer). this helps to create a more inclusive environment when we have a smaller focus on just january up to now.
Make an effort to use positive (or neutral) language. You can say “I’ve had 6 continuous days in January” versus “I’m on day 5 again.” I’ll edit out the word ‘again’ if you post that (!)
Leave out mentions of specific kinds of alcohol, types, brands, and colours. if you mention that you miss booze, that’s fine. if you say ‘i miss a clear glass of blah blah’ i’ll very kindly remove the entire comment.
Start a new comment and talk about YOU, rather than commenting on other person’s share. When we read about other people we feel less alone; it helps more than “you got this” from a stranger. and often when we comment on each other’s posts, someone is left out, some comments get more likes, etc.
Put in a screen name when it asks for your ‘name’ and just a reminder that email addresses are NOT displayed (EVER). i also approve every comment before it is posted 🙂

ok, i’ll start …

anonymous confession booth: sex

September 6, 2022September 6, 2022 Belle 97 Comments

step right up. for two days only, i’m creating an anonymous sober confession booth about SEX. Yes, i’ve got something running through my head and i thought, OK, let’s blog about it. and really, it’s amazingly hard to talk about sex even when we’re quasi-anonymous online. And so then i thought, OK, let’s make it 100% anonymous, me included.

So here’s the deal.

Post a comment below.
For this to work you MUST type Anonymous as your name and put in a fake email (fakeemail123@gmail.com) in the comments form (if you forget, i’ll go in and delete that info manually). all comments are to be anonymous. one of the comments will be from me, you just won’t know which one.
I have no way of personally knowing who posts what.
In your comment, write two or three sentences (max.) about something about sex that you think is ONLY your problem and that probably no one else has the same problem as you do. For example, i’ll make one up: “I can’t initiate sex when sober but i used to be able to when drinking” … OR … “i worry that i’m the only person who has x problem now that i’m sober.”
Then post ONE anonymous ‘reply’ to one of the other comments already posted, and say something comforting, consoling, forgiving, kind. In fact, it would simply help if you said “i have this problem, too.”

i have a feeling that this will unfold in a lovely way. because you’re all lovely people. and we all have sex shit that we can’t talk about.

small fridge magnets. to protect you.

link > https://bellerobertson.gumroad.com/l/m700-m701

link here > https://bellerobertson.gumroad.com/l/m700-m701

anonymous confession booth: things we can’t control

August 26, 2022August 28, 2022 Belle 321 Comments

this post is now closed to new comments.

scroll down to read through everything. do you see yourself in here?

hugs, belle

a lighthouse helps shine a light on dark waters. helps your orient yourself. keep you from crashing.

Lighthouse 7
acrylic on wrapped canvas
sides are painted BLACK so it does not need to be framed.
link

link
art by mr.belle.
hugs, me and him

Audio: Saving the 12-year-old

June 11, 2022June 12, 2022 Belle 13 Comments

i was in a hotel room, hanging out, reading about writing fiction, and in the book there was this question about what is your WHY.

now, generally i hate these questions.

but i started thinking about it in terms of 'why do i do this sober work' ... or more specifically, why have i been doing this sober stuff for 10 years (soberversary coming in 19 days!).

and WOW does this audio get deep!

the why.

the REAL why.

And in this audio I tell you the story of the 12-year-old.

[ link removed ]

Sober Podcast 482. Saving the 12-year-old

To download the entire audio, you can use the link below.

Sign up for the podcast subscription and get this episode as your first audio.
(1-2 new full-length audios each week, you can cancel whenever you like ... but you won't. more sober tools = good)

anonymous forgiveness

January 19, 2022June 11, 2022 Belle 386 Comments

This is an Anonymous Forgiveness space.

It is now closed to new comments. But please scroll through the posts that have been shared.

Audio: Can you make the euphoric feeling of early sobriety KEEP GOING?

August 28, 2021August 30, 2021 Belle 27 Comments

When the newness of being newly sober WEARS OFF OVER TIME, then can gratitude help you feel better?

What is the difference between GRATITUDE and REFRAMING?

This is the subject of a brand new podcast (episode 449) going out today to podcast subscribers.

[ link has been removed ]

Sober Podcast 449. Can you make the euphoric feeling of early sobriety keep going?

To download the entire audio, you can use the link below.

Download SP449. Can you make the euphoric feeling of early sobriety keep going?

Sign up for the podcast membership
(1-2 new full-length audios each week, you can cancel whenever you like ... but you won't. more sober tools = good)

Do your relationships change when you’re sober? {Audio}

February 13, 2021February 14, 2021 Belle 8 Comments

Hopeful62 is worried that her relationship with her husband will change if she is longer-term sober. She emailed me about having defined roles in a relationship, and how being sober might changes things (presumably in a bad way).

So my reply? Well it includes a bit of: What if the changes are positive? What if we evolve into a better version of ourselves? Slightly less irritated, slightly less anxious. You may have better boundaries and speak up for yourself more. These aren’t bad things 🙂

And then I say this quote, but you'll have to listen to the audio to find out why... “I don’t give a shit for a millisecond what my husband thinks of croissants.”

reindeer, snoopy, donuts

December 8, 2020December 9, 2020 Belle Leave a comment

i will continue to share stories of simple gifts, simple kindness, and simple holidays so long as my inbox continues to look like this …

Ma: “Hello Belle, I heard about you from Catherine Gray’s book, she said she found great solace from you and your writing and I can see why. My best Christmas memory is of me putting my four year old daughter to bed and Mum pretending to be a reindeer outside, some bells and snorting, my daughter was delighted that the reindeer had come.”

Pa: “We were a family of five back in 1963. We didn’t have a ton of money … and never spent money on elaborate decorations for the home. We just had some simple old coloured lights and one green flood light. Back in the olden days, the flood lights seamed to last forever, you would plug it in and without fail it beamed bright year after year. In those days we could always count on another thing too: tons and tons of snow. One year I got a super idea to create a subject for the flood light, on our front lawn. So I worked tirelessly with my wet mittens at sculpting a simple Snoopy, then the next year I took things up a notch and created Frosty the Snowman holding ET’s hand and pointing up at the night sky. I had even got out my water colour paints to glorify the sculpture. It became a big hit. Many cars would creep slowly by our home or even stop for a while so they could get a good look at the characters in the spot light. It made people smile. And that is what Christmas is all about to me, it’s in the heart. The little things…”

We: “One year when my children were their early teens, we celebrated the solstice with a candle lit walk with friends in their woods. there was snow that year and we had a beautiful walk with fresh home made donuts after. We have continued the tradition of gathering for the solstice (with donuts), but that was the only year there was deep snow and a trek through the woods (my girls are now 28 and 26 and it is still a simple celebration that we all look forward to (I don’t make the donuts, friend does!)” [me: now i’m craving donuts, am i right?]

mr.belle has painted some cardstock that he’d usually use for magnets. but he’s done them on the diagonal, and double-sided! and with a little hole punched in the top, and some hemp cord, we have a christmas ornament (perhaps) or you can hang it from your cork board, or your car’s rearview mirror…

link > www.artsober.com

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link > www.artsober.com