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Greetings & Felicitations,
Any mention or even the slightest hint of the word 'recovered' around these parts and you are thought of as a lunatic who is heading for a drink lol
Best wishes Des
To insist that our recovery is never-ending and that we must remain perpetually powerless to stay free from the bondage of alcohol is to remain locked in fear. And fear is the opposite of what we’re actually promised.
Giving up this myth is the antidote to the fear. Letting go of the myth opens the path to more freedom and growth. The implications of giving up
this myth of recovery are much larger than at first imagined. Asserting we are never recovered and perpetually powerless is anything but attractive, many who would otherwise be helped are not. The whole purpose, or goal, of the 12 Steps is recovery in the fullest sense of the word. This fact is most obviously evidenced in what have become known as ‘The Promises’
‘The Promises’ are for the most part contained in a single paragraph in the chapter ‘Into Action’ where it is made clear they will come true as a result of working the Steps. Just as freedom from alcohol is the primary purpose of the program, so ‘The Promises’ are its overall goal. The Promises state:
"If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are halfway through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No
matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.
Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude to life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations that used to baffle us. We will suddenly realise that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us – sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialise if we work for them."
Obviously these promises are the antithesis of fear and powerlessness.
"We had to ask ourselves why we shouldn’t apply to our human problems this same readiness to change our point of view. We were having trouble
with personal relationships, we couldn’t control our emotional natures, we were prey to misery and depression, we couldn’t make a living, we had a feeling of uselessness, we were full of fear, we were unhappy, we couldn’t seem to be of help to other people – was not a basic solution of these bedevilments more important than whether we could see newsreels of lunar flight? Of course it was."
We are promised the ability to handle our new lives with grace and elegance, to choose, to do, to act, to be - informed by our spiritual experience. We can become powerfully recovered. To deny this fact is to deceive and limit ourselves, and others. To deny this fact is to deny the promise of the book:
"You may already have asked yourself why it is that all of us became so very ill from drinking. Doubtless you are curious to discover how and why, in the face of expert opinion to the contrary, we have
recovered from a hopeless condition of mind and body. If you are an alcoholic who wants to get over it, you may already be asking – "What do I have to do?" It is the purpose of this book to answer such questions specifically. "
We only have to be willing to work for it – now isn’t that attractive?
God bless
Dave
Jim K <jknyc@...> wrote:
Again this debate rages on at the Big Book Study. This is the best place for this discussion since it will not detract from the study.I count myself among thise who have recovered, not cured as our basic text says because I must maintain my spiritual condition on a daily basis - to stay plugged into that Power which makes it all possible. I am still obligated to give it away as freely as it was given to me. More importantly , however, are the benefits one realizes as a result of this course of action:My life today is experienced in the virtual absence of fear, concern, worry and the like because I have established a solid relationship with the One who has all power. As an actor in this production called "Life" I allow the Director to run the show - most of the time. The result is the production is a far better performance than if I attempted, as an actor, to run it myself.I am not concerned that I will be "struck drunk" - that I will brak as shoe lace or slip on a banana peel, fall into a gin mill and begin drinking. The recovered alcoholic does not fall victim to the alcoholic mind - no longer is the mental obsession in charge. That is the major difference - not fighting it, not missing the presence of alcohol nor the sense of ease and comfort it can provide. Instead I miss it as much as gefilte fish or vienna sausage. I am not envious of others who can drink with impunity nor do I envy those who eat vienna sausage. It has been removed and that is the miracle of Alcoholics Anonymous!Jim - Recovered!For a weekly chuckle visit:
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