The older I get the more one thing seems to increase, and that is people's need to drink when out. It being New Year's Eve, dinking comes to be expected, and this is fine. I certainly am not out to denounce other people's enjoyments. However, this is not uncommon during every other holiday, event or social gathering in general. Rarely, it seems that people ask themselves why they must drink when around other people. Are other people that hard to be around? Or is the issue a much deeper one? Perhaps the problem is not other people, but you. Maybe there is a sense of discomfort within, as if letting go and being genuine is too tough. Perhaps there is a fear of opening up around others and the drinking is a defensive mechanism. Or, perhaps the drinking is an effort to show others a side to you that you are not able to access on your own, or even a combination. In any case, when does this seemingly harmless habit turn into a problem? It is so common, unconscious and socially acceptable that people don't notice the harmful effects of this need to drink away social discomfort.

Sometimes I wonder what the world would be like without our need to fuzz out our awareness. What are we afraid of?