After finishing one glass of wine, the man felt better. His sorrows seemed to melt away, he felt more love for himself and other people. He felt happy. Just one more, he would think to himself, and then I will surely feel much better. Just one more won’t hurt.
Needless to say, the man did not stop at two or even three glasses of wine. Once he opened the cork on the first bottle, he often could not stop until he drank all the alcohol in the house, or until he fell asleep, whichever came first.
The man had taught himself to play piano at a very young age. When he was young, he would play and play for his family, his friends, and anyone who would listen. His mother would say, “Listen to this boy. He’s going places.” His teachers encouraged him to become a professional musician.
Over time, desires began to overwhelm the man and he turned away from music. He turned instead to drinking to satiate his desires. Soon all the desires all melded into one desire for alcohol. There was never enough wine to drown that out.
In the beginning, the man’s family watched him with curiosity. What was it? they would think, about alcohol, that made the man want to drink so much that he lost his senses? They took care of him. They drove him home when he visited from far away, or they gave him a soft bed to sleep in. They gave him aspirin in the morning when he awoke.
But one day, many years after the man took his first drink, his family decided to say something. “Man,” they said, “You can’t go on like this. This drinking is ruining your life, destroying your relationships, getting in the way of your work, and besides, you look so thin and gray. And whatever happened to your music? Why don’t you stop drinking? We love you.”
Latest Comments