Judge not, lest ye be Dry.

 

Be cool.

  I drink a beer everyday. I like to write about it too, it's kinda my thing. I support and promote craft beer because I enjoy what it has brought to my life and hope to keep the community growing and changing for years to come. I am pro enjoying whatever you like, when you like it and be damned what anyone else thinks of your enjoyment. 

But.

   I also think this applies to anyone who does a "Dry" month or week or whatever have you. I think anyone who chooses to completely walk away from beer or alcohol for a period of time or permanently should be able to do so without questions about their decisions. My own relationship with booze is a complicated one that goes back 3 decades and has many moments of joy and sorrow associated with it. Taking a pause from drinking isn't a thing to be mocked, even though I would have been saying a much different thing not so many years ago. I was the party guy, our house hosting parties almost every weekend and the alcohol flowed with me as head of bad decisions. I encouraged and cajoled people to drink with me, calling them out if they couldn't keep pace or didn't want to imbibe. Looking back, I am not proud of all that I did, but I also know that change and growth is possible and that's why I'm still here today to talk about how we move forward and change the conversation about drinking and our part in it. 

Marbs is always judging, but you shouldn't be.

  Personal responsibility for owning your choices is a good start. Doing what you need to do for your own health, mental and physical, should always be paramount to anything you do and while my own poor choices are well documented, I keep trying to be better every day. If not drinking gets you right with you, then that's all that should matter. I don't know what motivates it, but I see the people who do it sharing their "journey" much like others do with their social media accounts about beer or liquor and I don't for a minute question their decision. It isn't mine to make. The internet has allowed us to make friends across social and economic divides, distance means nothing when we can talk online and learn about each other virtually before we ever meet in real life. Sharing what we are doing allows us to communicate that with the wider world and that is what we all do every time we post a beer or whatever it is makes you tick. I don't see many folks being "preachy" about it, in fact a lot of them are forthright about their own struggles with consuming too much and boy, that hits home as I too have those conversations in my own head on a weekly basis. They recognize that perhaps they get a little too deep into their own cups, seeking that rush when they share a new beer pic that's gets their phone buzzing with likes and comments. It isn't just the beer that's addictive, the social media driven endorphin rush is real and powerful and not going away. So, by sharing their experiences with taking a break from booze, they can still stay connected and feel like they are not alone, big deals both especially as we continue to stay home and away from socializing in person. 

  I have friends who have gone completely sober, absolutely dry and hoping to stay that way permanently. They have come to the very difficult and personal decision that no booze is the only way for them to live and I strongly come down on their side with my whole heart and support. I congratulate them on every week or month dry as they celebrate it and make sure they know I applaud their courage to address what they need to just to survive. By the same mark, I also cheer on those doing the dry week or months because they too are being real and true to themselves. I know right now it is a most difficult time for many craft breweries, but supporting local doesn't end because someone took a month away from drinking beer. They are buying gift cards, picking up new releases for consumption after their dry period ends and continuing to share online their love of this community. As someone who lives very much out loud online, I don't hide a lot of my life from the world, I understand the fun in sharing something new and shiny in your world. I don't think I ever go more than a few days without posting pictures of Marbles and Simcoe because they bring great happiness to my life and while they are most assuredly not beer related, I don't really care because everything I do is about making myself feel happy when I may not be feeling that at all. 

Simcoe lets you know how he feels about judging people for not drinking

  Do what you like, as long as it isn't hurting anyone or yourself, and you will have my full support. I may one day do a "Dry" month myself, that would be a hell of a story to write and I do love to explore my own mind in real time and wide open to the world as I go along. But in all seriousness, be kind to other people as the planet still reels from this pandemic, the vitriol online should be reserved for the racists and hatemongers who deserve it. Someone doing a sober month deserves a "Hell. yeah", not a "Hell, no". As they say in the Different Strokes theme song :

"Now, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum,

What might be right for you, may not be right for some."

  Be good to each other and yourself and know that Old Polk is always here for a beer, some cheer or just to hear you talk.

Polk