Life Change: pretend or get drunk

A young friend of mine came over to tell me all about her trip to Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. She was one of my yoga students and is now a certified teacher herself.

She was saying that she had spent a month at this place that has its central focus on physical mental and spiritual health and then returned home and to her job at a bar. The dichotomy of the two places hit her hard.

What really got to her were not the people who came in for a drink or two and then left, but those that stay for the night and become so inebriated that they can hardly stand. They would say how cool they thought her becoming a yoga teacher was and how they had thought about doing yoga, all the while slurring their words. Her next comment caught my attention.

I cannot quote her but she said something to the effect of, why did they feel the need to get drunk just so they could be okay with being who they wanted to be.

I had never thought of that before, but I realized she was right. Many people drink to excess so that they can lose their inhibitions and become the people they want to be.  Years ago, when I used to do drugs and drink heavily, that’s exactly why I did it. I wanted to leave behind the pain of who I was and be someone else.

Are you afraid because of your inhibitions to be who you really want to be? Are you fearful that others will laugh or criticize you? Do you need an excuse to break free from a self imposed prison to become, just for a little while, who you want to be?

Start today, to be who you want to be. Make just a little change, something that is not too hard and go with it. Pretend a little. It might not work as fast as getting drunk, but you can’t be arrested for driving while pretending.

Steve

P.S. For more help on deciding what your life should be see the Living Your Dream page