"SPIRITS"

"I got sober. I stopped killing myself with alcohol. I began to think: 'Wait a minute - if I can stop doing this, what are the possibilities?' And slowly it dawned on me that it was maybe worth the risk." - Craig Ferguson

In the sixteenth century, alcohol ( “spirits”) was used largely for medicinal purposes. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the British parliament passed a law encouraging the use of grain for distilling spirits. Cheap spirits flooded the market and reached a peak in the mid-eighteenth century. In Britain, gin consumption reached 18 million gallons and alcoholism became widespread. In 1920 the US passed a law prohibiting the manufacture, sale, import and export of intoxicating liquors. Today, an estimated 15 million Americans suffer from alcoholism and 40% of all car accident deaths in the US involve alcohol.

Alcoholism almost always leaves a trail of tragedy in it's path; it has claimed the lives of many; including gifted artists, musicians and writers etc, over the past decades. Take a look;

John Bonham (1948–1980): Excessive alcohol led to the tragic death of Led Zeppelin drummer John “Bonzo” Bonham, best known for his drum solo on the song “Moby Dick.” He was found dead of asphyxiation from vomit after a night of heavy drinking, on his way to rehearsals for an upcoming tour.

Steve Clark (1960–1991): Guitarist for Def Leppard. A heavy drinker, he died in his London home of a lethal combination of alcohol and drugs.

Michael Clarke (1946–1993): American musician, drummer for The Byrds. He died of liver failure after three decades of heavy alcohol consumption.

WHAT LIQUOR?

"Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction." - Bob Marley

He was a good teacher of the final year class of a school. But he had a bad habit; he liked alcohol. In his last class the students had come with gifts for their beloved teacher. They presented their gifts to the teacher, in turns, after the class. One of the students; the son of a large shop owner, whose shop had all types of expensive liquor. He boy approached the teacher with a large packet with several small holes. The teacher was happy to see the packet, which he expected to contain some exquisite liquor. He accepted the packet with joy and thanked the boy. He carried the packet very carefully in his car, keeping it close to him. After driving some distance through a busy street, he felt that a liquid was leaking out from the packet. He assumed that the bottle of liquor was accidentally opened or broken during the drive, spilling the liquor. He was terribly upset and was reluctant to waste the liquor. Due to heavy traffic, he could not stop the car there. So he collected the leaking liquid in his left hand and licked it with lust. The taste was unfamiliar. But he presumed that it was some special liquor that he'd never tasted before. Reaching a convenient spot, he stopped the car and opened the packet in a hurry. He was surprised to find a nice little puppy in the packet. He'd licked the puppy’s urine!

ATTEMPT AGAIN TODAY!

“Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead." - Louisa May Allcott 

YES, I am sure you tried it last year, last month, last week and even yesterday and when the facts are examined it was a monumental failure. In fact, some people said you are not intelligent enough, not skilled enough, it’s not for people like you, your background does not support what you are attempting to achieve. Yet, others say you're over ambitious and braggadocious, but let me beg to differ, I dare you to attempt it again today.

Let me borrow an extract from Theodore Roosevelt’s speech in 1899 at the Hamilton Club in Chicago. "It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who does actually try to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion

HE STOOPS TO CONQUER

There is an interesting story behind the statue of resurrected Christ today behind the altar in the ‘Church of Our Lady’ Cathedral in Copenhagen, Denmark. The statue made by Karl Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen in clay, a Danish sculptor of international repute. The original statue had its head held high, gazing upward towards heaven. The hands were also held high and outstretched as if to bless the whole humanity. He finished the work and went home leaving the clay to dry and harden, but during the night, a dense mist spread from the sea. A heavy rainstorm dampened the whole area. The dampness entered his studio and altered the appearance of the statue. The head that was held high, bent forwards and faced downwards. The arms raised high in a commanding gesture, now fell low and stretched forward in an inviting gesture. At first, the sculptor felt depressed as this masterpiece appeared to be damaged and ruined beyond repair by the weather. From further observation and meditation, he learned that the altered figure depicted the true image of our loving Lord. It now displayed the "Compassionate Saviour". The sympathetic arms were outstretched as if to embrace the sad and needy humanity. On the pedestal in the cathedral the words, “Come unto me” were inscribed later, based on the verse in Matthew 11:28. If one wants to see the face of Christ in the statue clearly, he must get down on his knees and look upwards. This statue has been described as the most perfect statue of Christ in the world. When Thorvaldsen unveiled this statue in the Copenhagen Cathedral 1828, it is recorded that "crowds of astonished onlookers marveled at the grandeur and sublimity of the work."

WHOSE IS BIGGER?

"Maybe you don't like your job, maybe you didn't get enough sleep, well nobody likes their job, nobody got enough sleep. Maybe you just had the worst day of your life, but you know, there's no escape, there's no excuse, so just suck up and be nice." - Ani DiFranco

A doctor entered the hospital in hurry after being called in for an urgent surgery. He answered the call, changed his clothes and went directly to the surgery block. He found the boy’s father pacing in the hall waiting for the doctor. On seeing him, the dad yelled:

“Why did you take all this time to come? Don’t you know that my son’s life is in danger? Don’t you have any sense of responsibility?”

“I am sorry, I wasn’t in the hospital and I came as fast as I could after receiving the call... And now, I wish you’d calm down so that I can do my work”, the doctor replied with a smile.

“Calm down? What if it were your son in this room right now, would you calm down? If your own son dies now what will you do?” the father replied, raising his voice.

“I will say what Job said in the Holy Book, 'from dust we came and to dust we return, blessed be the name of God'. Doctors cannot prolong lives. Go and pray for your son, we will do our best by God’s grace” still smiling, the doctor replied and walked away.

“Giving advice when we’re not concerned is easy” Murmured the father.

The surgery took some hours after which the doctor went out happy, “Thank goodness!, your son is saved!” And without waiting for the father’s reply he carried on his way running. “If you have any questions, ask the nurse!”

“Why is he so arrogant? He couldn’t wait some minutes so that I ask about my son’s state” Commented the father when seeing the nurse minutes after the doctor left.

The nurse answered, tears coming down her face:

“His son died yesterday in a road accident, he was at the burial when we called him for your son’s surgery. And now that he saved your son’s life, he left running to finish his son’s burial.”

How many people - because you never knew how their life was or what they’re going through - have we talked dis-respectfully and rudely to? How many times have we, in the midst of our own issues, been nice and sensitive enough to watch the words we say to them?

I have come to discover or realize, that in life EVERYONE is going through issues; if it were possible to see people's thoughts or worries from their appearance we'd realize that our own issues are "rice grain sized", as compared with other people's "mountain Everest" sized issues. We all have issues, and as long as we keep living such issues will keep coming...briddle your tongue today and learn to be more sensitive