it could be worse, right? think of your ex-partner and then listen to this one-minute message below.
nothing to download. just press play 🙂
hugs from me xo
Tag: sober audio
omm356.Eliminate
so if you’re feeling wacky and wound up, especially in times like this, then what can you ELIMINATE that’ll make you feel better? alcohol, for sure, but what else? i share some suggestions in this one-minute message.
you can listen below. nothing to download. just press play 🙂
hugs from me xo
an audio about your mood (and being sober!)
this is an extract from the live show i recorded on monday about managing our MOOD when sober. the full episode is being sent to podcast subscribers today and tomorrow.
from N: “I missed the live show – would love to catch up with it but I’m not currently subscribed to the podcasts. Is this something you might put up as a stand alone purchase?”
me: 🙂 well the live show was 2 hrs long, and so will be split into 3-4 podcasts. it might be cheaper to be a podcast subscriber than get them as singles. a subscription would give you 8-ish audios in a month and the subscription is only $26.21/month versus the stand alone price of $5 each (x 8 = $40) … huglets
update from yesterday’s email
When I sent out the email inviting you to read and stay plugged-in to your sober stuff, here are some of the replies:
- My sobriety is important. I am important. Doing this one small thing every day keeps me motivated. Some days they help more than others. Some days, I think I am fine and I don’t need any help. But even then, the help never hurts. Other days, I find there is something in your message that turned out to be exactly what I needed to hear at that moment. Thank you for doing what you do, it helps many more than I think you realize.
- I pledge to open every email from you and click on a link in each email between now and January 2. Because drifting is dumb … I’m going to remember that in terms of my sobriety the only thing that’ll change is my location during the holidays, so I do just the same things while I’m away as I do at home – all my sober supports and treats.
- I am on day 2 and doing ok … I’m also caregiver to our 33-year-old daughter who has Cerebral Palsy. Stressful, so I’ve been drinking too much. Need to stop for her. Your daily inspiration really helps. Thanks for your unique insight and humor.
- I will open every email you send with gratitude, from now until Jan 2nd, because it is fucking amazing knowing that someone cares enough about me to send daily emails, with links to sober supports. I will click on the links to those sober supports too, even if I don’t buy anything. Because I want you to know I appreciate you and I appreciate you reaching out to me by emails, I need these emails to remind me that what I’m doing is important.
- I pledge to not only open but also read every line of every sober email that you send to me between now and January 2nd, 2039. If Belle cares enough to take the time to send them, then Heather will care enough to set up an alert on my phone with a special Belle ringtone alert when an email arrives from you. I will open and read your sober emails, not just preview them on my phone because there is no point in just previewing them, I wouldn’t see the whole encouragement and strength message that may come at just the right moment (this whole just the right message at just the right time thing occurs regularly), but also, by just previewing them, it could possibly be used by my bit of drinking head that still exists as an excuse to put snowshoes on and walk 10 miles to the nearest shop that sells booze. I have purchased 2 gig extra data to do this, as I am spending the season alone (dog is invited) in a log cabin in the mountains of North Wales… no wifi within 25 miles of me. I cannot guarantee a signal, but I will walk a maximum of 2 miles to find one- this is my Christmas effort gift to you. I also pledge to click and see where the mysterious link in each email will lead me to, but I cannot promise I will not buy anything. I want to show you Belle that i’m out there, in between the mountains on one side and the sea on the other side of me, relaxing alone, still sober even when I get mad when I will inevitably understand what I have been missing out on for the last 7 years. I’ll open and read your emails and click a link every day between now and January 2nd 2039. There is no reason whatsoever good enough on this fucking earth that I will happen to not be sober, so I am skipping that part of the pledge..but to make you happy, I will promise you that if for some stupid, made-up, idiotic and most likely death inducing reason i happen to not be sober, i will still open and read your emails to me and click on your link that you made an effort to provide everyday. Because I know that drifting from my sober supports is setting myself up on purpose, giving myself a slightly nudged open door to make up an excuse to drink; and not giving this babygirl the self love she deserves, and therefore, i will need to be engaged more. I owe it to myself first and foremost, and to you because of all of your efforts to try to get me to come to your side of the mountain to at least let you know that I’m still here. Still alive. Still sober.
~
“I have potential when i’m sober”
sober art, thanks to mr.belle
artsober.com
this is an original painting, so there’s only one copy available.
link
Iconic Moms Podcast – What’s Your Vice?
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I was interviewed for the Iconic Moms podcast on November 23, 2019 by Alex, a very thoughtful. I am happy to be episode #17 on her new-ish show, and I think this interview is a good primer to learning about being sober. As well, I think that Alex is sharing brave things, as you’ll hear in this interview. To listen to other episodes of her show, you can go here.
This full interview will be sent to podcast subscribers.
But I want you to hear the whole audio NOW, even if you’re not a podcast subscriber.
So I’ve loaded the entire audio in the free audio feed (itunes/android).
[ link removed ]
The full audio will be available for 10 days. Go and listen to the first few minutes. Listen in installments. Or get a cup of tea and do it all at once. There’s something in here for you. I’m sure of it.
hugs and happy saturday
Something New (day 140): “Amazing how fast those magnets sell. I feel like it will be like winning a jackpot when one is available. I want one!!!! I particularly like the ones with the aqua color in them. He must be so happy!”
LARGE magnets
acrylic & ink, handcut card stock
7.5 x 7.5 cm (3″ x 3″)
magnet 276 >Â link
magnet 277 >Â link
Sober for October (Day 11)
October Day 11
i have created a check-in space here for today. the goal of Sober for October is continuous days sober.
In the comments on the blog, you can say how many continuous days you’ve had so far in October … 3 or 8 or 10 working on today as the 11th continuous day? Only post this 🙂 Don’t post “new day 1 for the 18th time.” Don’t post “Day 366.”
Just post how many continuous days you’ve done in october. You’ll see this long list of people and it’s going to look so cool!
you can put in a screen name when it asks for your ‘name’. and email addresses are NOT displayed (EVER). i also approve every comment before it is posted 🙂 And i’ll edit out stuff that’s not related to the topic.
So you? It’s your turn now. Even if you’ve never posted something on a blog before 🙂 You can say how many continuous sober days you’ve had in October, and what’s the biggest thing you’ve realized so far in the past couple of weeks of doing this…
ok, i’ll start …
hugs, belle xo
~
sober art. thanks to mr.belle (this is painting #526, painted in vermont and is signed with VT on the back). You can choose the word or symbol that Mr. Belle puts on your painting. Like Stay or Exit or Freedom or maybe your soberversary date.
link >Â www.artsober.com
sober for october
i know how you feel about having a magic sober start date.
i know that wolfie tells you there’s a right day to begin.
after the vacation, after the horse race, after the surgery.
i know it doesn’t seem like it, but wolfie will INVENT imaginary reasons why you should wait.
when really, you start now, you feel better now.
but since i KNOW you’re prone to magical thinking that the date matters, let me present this.
You can do ‘Sober for October‘.
ready? if you need a sober penpal, let me know. if you’ve been a sober penpal before and you need a restart, let me know. if you are gloriously sober and want to add to your sober days, let me know. if you think i’m full of shit, wait a day and see how you feel tomorrow.
Are you in?
~
SOBRIETY WANT AD
Benefits include great sleep, return of self-esteem, elimination of hangovers. Save $400 to $1,000 a month by not drinking. Double your money back if you hate being sober after hundreds of days.
For a limited time. Reach out now.
Operators are standing by.
Sobriety ~ It’s not just for alcoholics anymore.
~
LEAVE A COMMENT!
my blog allows anonymous posts, so you can just make up a screen name for yourself, or you can call yourself Anonymous. Tell us what day sober you are today, and how you hope to feel at the end of a continuous month sober. If you’re on day 2 or day 272, you can still chime in and pledge to rack up continuous days sober in October.
~
painting #510.
you have potential when you’re sober. link > www.artsober.com
Be Kind To You
I’m reading a book and if I read to you from the book
And I substitute the word ‘sober’ where he’s talking about something else
This will make as much sense to you as it did to me when I was reading it
And it goes like this
The worst part of this whole situation is that starting being sober and not continuing
Makes you feel terrible
These are not his words
This is me changing it because as soon as I read it I thought OK
I have to share this because this is genius
Because when you make a goal to be sober
You make a promise to yourself
The moment you create that goal
You’ve made a silent promise
And then when you don’t do it, you’ve broken that promise
And you’ve lied to the person you spend the most time with
Which is you
And if you break enough promises
You start to doubt yourself
That’s not surprising
If someone told you a dozen different times
That they’d meet you for coffee and then they never showed up
You wouldn’t trust them
If a parent promised to pick you up at soccer practice
And didn’t
You’d lose faith in them
If a boss promised you a promotion
And then didn’t deliver month after month
You’d quit believing her
When you break enough promises you start to doubt yourself
This is not surprising
I thought when I read that:
This is exactly what early sobriety is about
We don’t know if we can count on ourselves
We don’t know if we’re going to do it
We want to move away from the place of feeling bad
We want to move into a new place of feeling better
How do you do that
How do you quit
You get support from someone external to you
Someone who could repeatedly
In an email
In an audio
In an audio
Whisper in your ear
This is what you want
This is what you’re doing
Doesn’t matter what you’ve done before
It doesn’t matter that you didn’t show up for soccer practice before
What matters is what you’re doing today
Because today is how you write the new story
Of what happens next
~
if alcohol is an elevator that only goes down, you may have to look for an exit. and once you’re off, stay off.
original art thanks to mr.belle who has been painting in the living room of the rental apartment in vermont. including getting navy blue paint on the beige carpet …
this is Exit #509, link > www.artsober.com
