I find it interesting that a bit of alcohol reduces overall inhibition in general. But is that a good sign or a bad sign? I'm not sure. I'd say it's situational. Sometimes when you need a bit of a courage, it might help. Sometimes, it might result in your speaking of words that you wouldn't have uttered otherwise. A good number of times, it helps you drop your guard and feel more comfortable in a group and that's probably why people like it. But the fun part is that this gives rise to a complex question. The question isn't new... I asked it a while ago.
Is alcohol good or bad?
Of course, a diplomatic answer is that the situation and the context matter very much. If there's a mathematician around, under the field of probability, he'd probably say that one of the possibilities is the use of alcohol as a medicine or as a painkiller. That's unfortunately going to open up a very large can of worms. For one, the question of why only alcohol? Why not psychotropic drugs? Why not psychedelics? An opening statistic to even the battlefield.
There have been no recorded deaths because of marijuana.
See Weedist for the infographic. Imagine... A person so hopelessly depressed that even medicines can't treat him... Yeah, that's real... It's called treatment-resistant depression. Imagine... Wanting to kill yourself and not being able to tell anyone or listen to anyone... If you thought treatment-resistant malaria was scary, think again. At least with malaria, you'll have a fever that others can see. We've all been there... A fear, a mistake, a loss, or something that we've all felt. A step that was taken that shouldn't have been... I've been forgiven. I've been given a second chance. Many times. What if I wasn't? What if you weren't? Imagine the bed that you are sleeping on to be one of concrete in a jail guarded by police every second of the day. I'm lucky. Nay, I'm fortunate.
No doubts, this is a rant. A rant fuelled by alcohol. But a rant nevertheless. But also, a rant that's meaningful, nevertheless. Because this has gone into so many directions and probably become so unwieldy, I'd like to make this clear. Alcohol is bad only if it's horribly in excess. Anything is horribly bad if it's in excess. Water, salt, love, hate... Anything. Google it. People have died because of consuming excess water. If it's in excess, it's bad. Therefore, moderation is absolutely important and necessary. Conversely, why can't psilocybin be good, if it's in moderation? If you don't know what I'm talking about, Google it. Google magic mushrooms. Google James Fadiman. Ask yourself why bhaang is legal in India in government authorised shops. This is a reality. There are ways and methods of looking deeper into one's life; into one's soul. It's not 100% scientific (yet), but it's not magic either. If you're someone who's had a drink ever; think of that time when you lost your mind and try to remember how it was... On you and also on your near and dear ones. The effect on your loved ones... Good or bad... If I can speak for myself, an unwitting, close, dear, teetotaler brother-like cousin suffered the ignominy of having to ferry me home in the middle of the night in a vehicle and in a city unfamiliar to me. But then... I know now that I can count on him... I know his integrity is beyond reproach. I know he's much more of a valuable human than I'll ever be. I'll also know that I cause pain... To him and others. To myself. But it's probably important. It's probably steps and milestones in self-discovery. If you can be someone else than yourself and look into where you are susceptible to change for the better, wouldn't you?
In summary, know that life is mysterious. We do not know everything. We'll never know everything. What you know is dependent on what others know. What you don't know, is dependent on you.
Against my will I stand beside my own reflection,
It's haunting, how I can't see,
To find myself again,
My walls are closing in...
- Chester Bennington, RIP.
Is alcohol good or bad?
Of course, a diplomatic answer is that the situation and the context matter very much. If there's a mathematician around, under the field of probability, he'd probably say that one of the possibilities is the use of alcohol as a medicine or as a painkiller. That's unfortunately going to open up a very large can of worms. For one, the question of why only alcohol? Why not psychotropic drugs? Why not psychedelics? An opening statistic to even the battlefield.
There have been no recorded deaths because of marijuana.
See Weedist for the infographic. Imagine... A person so hopelessly depressed that even medicines can't treat him... Yeah, that's real... It's called treatment-resistant depression. Imagine... Wanting to kill yourself and not being able to tell anyone or listen to anyone... If you thought treatment-resistant malaria was scary, think again. At least with malaria, you'll have a fever that others can see. We've all been there... A fear, a mistake, a loss, or something that we've all felt. A step that was taken that shouldn't have been... I've been forgiven. I've been given a second chance. Many times. What if I wasn't? What if you weren't? Imagine the bed that you are sleeping on to be one of concrete in a jail guarded by police every second of the day. I'm lucky. Nay, I'm fortunate.
No doubts, this is a rant. A rant fuelled by alcohol. But a rant nevertheless. But also, a rant that's meaningful, nevertheless. Because this has gone into so many directions and probably become so unwieldy, I'd like to make this clear. Alcohol is bad only if it's horribly in excess. Anything is horribly bad if it's in excess. Water, salt, love, hate... Anything. Google it. People have died because of consuming excess water. If it's in excess, it's bad. Therefore, moderation is absolutely important and necessary. Conversely, why can't psilocybin be good, if it's in moderation? If you don't know what I'm talking about, Google it. Google magic mushrooms. Google James Fadiman. Ask yourself why bhaang is legal in India in government authorised shops. This is a reality. There are ways and methods of looking deeper into one's life; into one's soul. It's not 100% scientific (yet), but it's not magic either. If you're someone who's had a drink ever; think of that time when you lost your mind and try to remember how it was... On you and also on your near and dear ones. The effect on your loved ones... Good or bad... If I can speak for myself, an unwitting, close, dear, teetotaler brother-like cousin suffered the ignominy of having to ferry me home in the middle of the night in a vehicle and in a city unfamiliar to me. But then... I know now that I can count on him... I know his integrity is beyond reproach. I know he's much more of a valuable human than I'll ever be. I'll also know that I cause pain... To him and others. To myself. But it's probably important. It's probably steps and milestones in self-discovery. If you can be someone else than yourself and look into where you are susceptible to change for the better, wouldn't you?
In summary, know that life is mysterious. We do not know everything. We'll never know everything. What you know is dependent on what others know. What you don't know, is dependent on you.
Against my will I stand beside my own reflection,
It's haunting, how I can't see,
To find myself again,
My walls are closing in...
- Chester Bennington, RIP.
Comments
Post a Comment