I took a nice, long walk today ... since the sun decided to finally make an appearance after several weeks, and it struck me that even the little things in my life are more enjoyable since I stopped drinking alcohol. It simply was invigorating to feel the sun upon my skin, and I felt stronger and healthier than I have in years. I was genuinely enjoying my day. The only bad part was I couldn't get that "Sunshine Superman" song by Donovan out of my head! (earworms, I think they're called.)
The sad part about drinking alcohol is that, while you're drinking it, you don't realize how much it's numbing life. Even the little things of life, like taking a walk and feeling the sun upon your face, are numbed down to the point where they simply don't have as much meaning as they should. It's only when one sobers-up that you realize how much damage alcohol has done to your awareness.
Of course, some people drink to numb the pain - but it's at the expense of numbing everything in their lives, to the point that all they really care about is alcohol. As crazy as it seems, they place alcohol at a higher priority than they own best interests - and often can not change until they have truly hit rock bottom and lost everything.