Question:
I’m not an alcoholic.
I don’t drink every day.
But I do enjoy a drink in the evening.
Lately I’ve been wondering
if I should stop.
Is alcohol something I need to cut out completely?
Or am I overthinking it?
Ossan’s answer:
An ossan doesn’t start with quitting.
He starts with observing.
For one week,
don’t change anything.
Just notice.
When do you reach for a drink?
What happened before that moment?
What do you expect it to give you?
Relief?
Reward?
Company?
The first truth about alcohol
is that it’s rarely random.
It follows patterns.
After stress.
Before difficult conversations.
On nights that feel empty.
If you stop drinking for a week
and feel nothing —
you probably had balance.
If you feel restless,
irritable,
or strangely exposed —
you’ve learned something valuable.
Not about alcohol.
About yourself.
An ossan doesn’t demonize alcohol.
He respects it.
Because it is powerful.
It can amplify joy.
It can also anesthetize discomfort.
The difference is awareness.
The real test isn’t
“Can I survive without it?”
It’s:
“Can I experience the same evening
with the same emotions
and still feel steady?”
If the answer is yes,
drink if you like.
If the answer is no,
maybe it’s not the alcohol you need to remove.
Maybe it’s the silence you need to learn to sit in.
Alcohol is not the villain.
But it is a mirror.
And some nights,
mirrors are uncomfortable.
That discomfort
is usually where the truth is.