Bad public behaviour

On Sunday, at 8 o'clock in the morning I witnessed a very drunk man speaking loudly and banging the tables at the food centre while his family was having breakfast with him. He had a bottle of 3/4 drunk bottle of whiskey with him.

This reminded me of the times when I used to be a pubic nuisance too. According to some of my friends, they said I was innocently honest like a child when I was drunk. I would go up to strangers and tell them honestly what I thought about them, even though I didn't know them! I have insulted many people from taxi drinkers, to friends of friends, to other patrons of pubs/discos. Nothing to be proud of.

But I share this to show how much out of control we can become when we give our power away to our addictions. Some people may say that I didn't know what I was saying while I was drunk. But I did know what I was doing when I drank myself silly. So I was still responsible for my actions.

Taking charge of one's life is really about taking responsibility for everything we do to ourselves and to others. Looking back at all the things I used to do makes me even more committed to do what is right for myself and for others. I do not live in regrets nor do I put myself on guilt trips, I am aware that I made some serious mistakes in the past and have vowed never to repeat them again. What I have now is an even stronger conviction to be a healthy person in body, mind and spirit.

© 2008 Shamala Tan

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