Reflecting on Dry January: My Journey and What I’ve Gained

Dry January 2025 marks my fourth year of participating, and my second time successfully. I still vividly remember first encountering the words “Dry January” on social media back in December of 2020. At the time, I was an avid craft beer enthusiast, and home brewer, just that December, I gave my friends and family an oak aged raspberry stout.

That year, when the world came to a halt with the COVID-19 pandemic, everything shifted. Social distancing became the norm, celebrities were awkwardly trying to make us smile through cringey videos, and people started picking up new hobbies, like baking sourdough. For me, I threw myself into homebrewing beer. I had just won a bronze medal for my “Pecan Porter” and was determined to hone my brewing skills. I increased my brewing capacity, and before long, I was making beer on a regular basis.

Then, as December 2021 rolled around, I decided to give Dry January a try. I bought some non-alcoholic beer, motivated and determined. But by day 3, I found myself justifying my decision to give in.

"Who cares about ‘Dry January’? I don’t have a problem with drinking. I’m just taking the edge off."

But deep down, there was a flicker of fear. I knew something wasn’t right, but I continued to justify it, creating rules and tests to “prove” I didn’t have a problem. If you’ve ever struggled with addiction—whether it’s alcohol, food, or any other vice. You understand this inner conflict.

The thing that you’re convinced is "taking the edge off" is actually the source of that very "edge." You start getting anxious and scared about not having it… you start to make the realization. It’s the reason you are unsettled in the first place. You know the thing you’re so afraid of losing is the thing that’s hurting you.

That first Dry January didn’t work for me. I lasted all of three days.

Fast forward to January 3, 2025. As I sit here, watching the sunrise and reflecting on my relationship with alcohol. I wanted to share a bit of my reflections on my experiences with alcohol from the edges of alcoholism. I never had the stereotypical “rock bottom”. So I could and did continuously justify my drinking.

I never was drinking in necessary excess, I had the place of mind to be aware. I never drank during work, I would relish in going for beers with friends. But I realized I was depending on it, I couldn’t make it through a social gathering without it. So when I was depending on it, I was solely focused on what I was “giving up,” when I tried Dry January in 2021, all I focused on was what I was "giving up." Fear gripped me, and it clouded my perspective.

But today, I see Dry January differently. Here are six things that have blossomed in my life since I decided to give up drinking:

1. Spiritual Healing and Self-Awareness

Healing is often touted as a buzzword these days, but the reality is, if you’re constantly numbing yourself—whether through alcohol or anything else—you’re shoving all of your pain, regrets, and unresolved emotions into the closet. And guess what? They don’t disappear. They stay there, locked away, only to pop up when least expected.

Giving up alcohol felt like finally opening the closet doors. The “stuff” that had been pushed aside for years bubbled up, and while it was challenging, the process was transformative. I started dealing with life’s wrinkles, the fears about the future, the regrets about the past—and it was worth every uncomfortable moment.

2. Physical Benefits

Aside from the spiritual and emotional benefits, I noticed physical changes. I stopped consuming empty calories and junk food associated with drinking, and I became consistent in my health and wellness goals. I now have a much more mindful and conscious understanding of all things I take into my body.  Alcohol, as we now know, has no safe level of consumption, and cutting it out allowed me to focus on real nutrition and physical well-being.

3. A Deep Sense of Meaning

With newfound clarity, my life began to feel incredibly meaningful. I started appreciating the little things that once seemed mundane:

• Waking up to a fresh pot of coffee and feeling grateful for my health.

• Watching the sunrise over snow-capped mountains, bathed in golden hues.

• Hearing my daughter’s sweet voice as she colors a homemade kite at the kitchen table while softly singing “Defying Gravity.”

• The smell of sage and pine as I hike through the slickrock canyons of Southern Utah.

• Spending time with loved ones and truly appreciating the connection.

4. A New, Powerful Positivity

I began to notice how alcohol had distorted my relationships and experiences. The common cycle of after-work drinks leading into a night of overindulgence and regret became glaringly clear. Friday’s “casual” drinks turned into Saturday’s hangover, Sunday anxiety, and Monday's embarrassment. It felt like I was just waiting for the next weekend to unwind, caught in a cycle of negative habits.

Now, I wake up every day with a sense of purpose, seeing each day as an opportunity for growth, connection, and productivity. I don’t need the "weekend escape" anymore. I’m no longer focused on surviving the week just to get to the next drink.

5. The Power of Facing My Vices

There is something profound in looking your vices in the eye and asking if they serve you. Whether it’s alcohol, social media, sugar, or any other addictive behavior, confronting it head-on is a deeply personal journey. I know now that, for me, Dry January isn’t just about giving up something—it’s about what I’m gaining in return. It’s about seeing how much more I’m capable of when I’m not weighed down by unhealthy attachments.

6. Channel that energy into something more

Quitting drinking wasn’t just about stopping a habit—it was about reclaiming my energy and rediscovering my potential. As I moved forward on my journey, I realized how much more I was capable of when I wasn't weighed down by alcohol. It was during this period of transformation that I found the inspiration to create something that feels like it came from my soul, and something I truly believe can help others—Bodhi Bubbles. 

Born from a desire to offer a healthier, alcohol-free alternative, Bodhi Bubbles is more than just a drink; it's a reflection of the balance and peace I found in my own life. With its blend of calming and uplifting adaptogens, nootropics, and fruit juice. It's a refreshing way to stay focused, relaxed, and mood boosted—without the downsides of alcohol. I’m proud to share Bodhi Bubbles with others on their journey, offering them a taste of bliss, clarity, and the empowerment that comes from making choices that serve your highest self.

So, to anyone considering Dry January, or any form of self-reflection, don’t think of it as an effort to give up. Think of it as an opportunity to see what unfolds for you. There’s an entire world of possibilities waiting on the other side, and it’s yours to discover. Whether it’s alcohol or something else, I encourage you to take a moment, ask yourself, "Is this serving me?" and see where it takes you.

Captain your own ship.

The view you have of the world is very interesting, and can affect the world you truly live in. I have been dealing with this recently as I have recently had a change to my world view. More recently, I experienced a change in my belief system, that has caused me to reevaluate the way I viewed the world.

Look around you. Do you live your life with an open-mind? or do you shut out new and unique thoughts because you have a fixed world view? If you have a fixated world view if what the world is you will always have an us vs them mentality. Turn that around, and the world just “is.” What does that mean?

If the world just “is”, you start to see the world as an ever changing constantly evolving sea of possibilities. You start to have compassion toward everyone and everything, everyone else just “is”, everything else just “is”, we are all just trying to make it through this ever-changing ever-evolving world we all live in. You begin to see the world for what it truly is, a world of possibilities, a world without judgement is a world of freedom.

“Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions”

– Oliver Wendall Holmes

That is what true compassion is, truly looking at each and every creature in the world as something or someone that we can experience and learn from, accept, and a mystery.  If you can accept this, you can accept and embrace all of the world views and lift them up.

In contrast, if you have a fixed worldview, you will spend your life constantly defending, constantly fighting, and seeking to put your worldview above others. Your view of the world is built on the premise built on your fixed world view, and you will never take off the blinders, you will never take a peek outside of the box, you will always be left in the narrow view.

How do you live your life? Do you have compassion? Do you have view the world as mysterious and ever-changing? Do you ebb and flow with the ebb and flow of the world? Or, do you have a fixed mindset? A narrow worldview? and one of defending your view?

I will describe for you the story of the two explorers.

Imagine two explorers seeking a goal or destination in the distance. There are two choices for the explorers he can choose to pilot a ship and sail across the sea to his destination. Or, the explorer can choose to get on a train sit back and get to his destination without deviation.

The first explorer chooses to pilot a ship and sail across the seas to get to his destination. He is now free to choose whichever path he desires to get to his destination. If, one day, he decides to sail to a new and exciting port he will have the freedom to choose that path. as he progresses through his journey he gets to experience new and exciting things each and every day. He is the master of his journey and the master of his destiny free to choose, and free to experience whatever he pleases.

The second explorer chooses to board a train, he now has no control over his journey. He simply bought a ticket, boarded a train took his seat and wherever the tracks take him, whenever they got there he will have no control. This scares the explorer and he  closes the curtains on his train car never even taking a peek outside of the train for fear of what he may see and for fear of what he may find. He may reach his destination, however he is not the master of his fate, he is not the master of his destiny and he has lost all of his control and simply shuts out the world and sits quietly.

Which would you choose? Would you choose the ship? Would you choose the train? The ship may be a wild ride filled with waves, wind, rain, and new experiences. But I can guarantee one thing, the ship would be much more interesting than the boredom and and stupefying haze that would be the traincar.

As for me, I choose to pilot a ship.

When you stop practicing.

I have recently been feeling down on myself. I have been nursing a knee that has been feeling a little off since I ran a half marathon a couple weeks ago. I have tried to get out and run a few times since and it just hasn’t happened, and this is what I have realized in the few weeks since I have not been running as often as I would like. Running is my meditation. it is an active meditation but it is a meditation. 

When I am running I “get into the zone” as they say. This is what happens when you get into a meditation practice as well. Do you know this feeling? Your whole existence doesn’t matter all that matters is what is happening in that instant, the next stride, the next step the next mile. The last mile doesn’t matter you can’t change that, you can only change what is currently happening. This is how I have started to try and look at my life. I cannot control what has happened yesterday, it has already passed. I cannot control what is happening tomorrow, it hasn’t happened yet. What I am able to control in fact is very little. I can really only control my actions, and my reactions to the things around me.

Now think about it… You really have so little control over the life you are living. You can’t control your co-worker who might be in a bad mood this morning. He/She could have taken your email the wrong way and now they are really mad at you. Now can you control this, no. But you can control your reactions and your actions. Your boss might take credit for a project or an idea that was all your idea. Now you can’t control that either. Let’s go one step back even from this. Can you control the traffic? Then why are you letting it make you so angry? Can you control the weather? Well, so why are you sad it is a rainy day? 

This applies to so many things, we can either make excuses for the situations that arise around us. Or, we can decide to have an even keel, a stoic reaction to the things around us. I had a football coach in high school who used to always say, “Control, what you can control, and the rest will fall into place.” I always thought that this meant just worry about yourself and it will be fine, but as I have gotten older and learned a little bit more about the universe, I have found that our ego is the hardest thing to control. 

This is why I have been missing my morning runs, when I run I get into the zone, I have a morning moment of zen, and it translates throughout my day to a more mindful day. Without this morning run, I find that I am much more prone to quickly react. This has been very insightful for me, as I have been striving to be more mindful, I have now found my best meditation is not simply sitting, and breathing. My best form of meditation is running, and breathing. 

What don’t you like?

Where do Ideas come from? How can we generate new ideas? What is it that makes some ideas great, while others fall to the wayside? What makes an idea great?

I am reading a book about coming up with ideas : “Become An Idea Machine: Because Ideas Are The Currency Of The 21st Century.”

In the book it has exercises to be better at coming up with ideas. This one was the very first one and it was a good exercise not just in coming up with ideas, but also in finding the good with the bad. It is a struggle sometimes to look around your life and see what you can complain about and what you should be grateful for even in those things that you don’t like. It was a great exercise that got me thinking and made me flex my mental muscle, but beyond that I am hoping it will help me to become a bit more mindful in my day of the things that I don’t like and how they are positive just as much as they are negative.

Here is what I was supposed to do to come up with ideas.

List 10 things that you don’t like and turn them into things you can be grateful for.

1.I don’t like dealing with clients. But I am grateful that I have some freelance clients that I can have around me to earn extra money.

2.I don’t like when my kids are whiny. But I am grateful that I have kids that I enjoy spending time with and love.

3.I don’t like my weight. But I am grateful for my health and I am working on getting that under control.

4.I don’t like crowds. But I am grateful to live in a place that has many opportunities around me that I can take advantage of.

5.I don’t like the my youth years and memories. But I am grateful for the life lessons that I was taught and the experiences that I had growing up, that made me who I am today.

6.I don’t like the snobby design culture online. But I am grateful that my profession is gaining new light and becoming something that is being talked about and discussed and is being found as something with value.

7.I don’t like distractions. But I am grateful for the many things around me that I get to experience. It also makes me more grateful for when I do unplug and get away from it all I feel more at peace.

8.I don’t like working late. But I am grateful having an in demand job and a job I enjoy that requires me to work late, even if that means I have some late nights.

9.I don’t like movie trailers that give away the whole movie. But I am grateful for lots of entertainment.

10.I don’t like when a good book ends. But I am grateful for the wonderful experience and story that I just read and what I learned in the process.

 This was a great exercise I know some of them are silly, but they are things I don’t like and I found a positive in there.  Hopefully will get you thinking, what do I not like in my day and how can I turn them around to be things that are positive in my life. I just started this book but I am really excited to keep it going and I hope that I can keep generating new and unique ideas to benefit my life and the lives of those around me.

Inner work for outward change.

Everyday we keep striving, we keep trying to make progress, we keep growing. In that time we see the world around us feel more chaotic, feel more focused on seeking pleasure, and pain. The world keeps going, we can’t stop. As I was seated in my morning meditation this morning I had a thought, “What can I do to help the uncertainty?”
Lately I have felt very content in my life, not complacent, but content. I am in a good place emotionally, spiritually, and while physically it could use a little work, I am healthy and making some course corrections to help with my health. But I look around and there is so much pain and suffering around us everywhere.

• Brexit, stirring fear and uncertainty.

• Terrorist attacks in Turkey, Bangladesh, Iraq, Saudi Arabia.

• The refugee crisis.

• Friends going through divorce.

• LGBT Suicides.

• The loss of loved ones.

• Philando Castile and Alton Sterling.

• The Dallas shooting.

These are all a reminder that suffering, inequality, pain, heartache, age, disease, and loss continues day after day. And never, ever stops. The only constant is change and uncertainty.

“What can I do to help the uncertainty?”

So as I sat, I pondered these things, I meditated on the pain and hurt of those around me and let their pain into my heart and soul. While I sat I felt that the only thing I can do is work on myself, if I get caught up in the things that have happened, or live in fear of the future, am I really living to my full potential?  Am I living my life with intent? Am I being myself, my true authentic self if I am concerned about what might happen in ten minutes, ten hours, ten days, or ten years?

The truth is extraordinary change is wrought by ordinary people by simply acting with authenticity, I can’t do much for the pain of the world. But taking care of those around me when they are feeling pain can cause a domino effect and together we can make change. We can provide a safe place for people going though struggles and pain, we can be a helping hand when someone falls, we can be open to all the people in the world and without judgement hear there struggles and views, together we can all do the inner work to be strong enough to be a rock to those that need us, when they need us.

We can be allies to those that need our help, we can advocate for change in our local communities, we can pick up the trash we see by the side of the road. We can realize that we all create our own reality and universe, and thus realize that someone else’s lived experience is very different from our own. And then when it becomes time, our inner work will have paid off in dividends with those around us when they need our help.

Our planet, our children, our communities, they need us to keep doing it.