Abstainability
As Forest Gump said when he was told he didn’t have to worry about money anymore, “That’s good, one less thang.”
That’s how I feel about alcohol and weed and tobacco.
Those seem like three different things, but my addictions to all of them were similar. I spent so much time thinking about the next drink or hit or chew that it’s sort of amazing that I graduated high school and college on schedule or did anything else ever.
I’m still stressed out and usually thinking about something other than appreciating the current moment, but now my thoughts are more fulfilling and productive.
Because there’s nothing less fulfilling and productive than addiction.
Plus, I’ve saved a lot of money not having to worry about any addictive substances, except caffeine. I’ve become more of a caffeine snob and addict, but one thing at a time. I’m no Forest Gump, financially, but contributing to a family is a little easier without so much of my income going up in smoke and down the tubes. And I have more time and more mental capacity to bring in more income and just be a better husband and father. Whether I use all my thinking time to those ends is something you can ask my wife about.
Also, getting wasted is wasteful.
Towards the end of my drinking, I was obsessed with only drinking beer that was brewed locally, because that meant that at least the water in it wasn’t getting trucked all over the country for me to get a buzz on. I could get my growlers filled at local breweries and avoid the bottles and cans and can rings that are all only used once. At best, they get recycled in a very energy intensive process. But the hops and grain are still getting trucked around, and then it all gets cooked into something calorically empty. According to one study, the energy used to brew one beer is the same as what an energy star flatscreen TV uses in 3 hours and 20 minutes.
Imagine if I could give both of them up.