Daily Reflections reading
September 28th
Love Without Strings
Practical experience shows
that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with
other alcoholics. Alcoholics Anonymous
Page 89
Sponsorship held two surprises for me. First, that my sponsees cared about me.
What I had thought was gratitude was more like love. they wanted me to be
happy, to grow and remain sober. Knowing how they felt kept me from drinking
more than once. Second, I discovered that I was able to love someone else
responsibly, with respectful and genuine concern for that person’s growth.
Before that time, I had thought that my ability to care sincerely about
another’s well – being had atrophied from lack of use. To learn that I can
love, without greed or anxiety, has been one of the deepest gifts the program
has given me. Gratitude for that gift has kept me sober many times.
© Alcoholics Anonymous World
Services
My thoughts on September 28th
Reading
Working with a newcomer I have found the
very first Question they ask is how can they stop, well I really do not have an
answer for that question because I am not this person, all I can do is share my
own experience with him on what I did to put down the drink to never have to
pick it up again
By accepting I have a problem and needed
guidance, for me it was a spiritual awakening, the finding of a power greater
than myself who I chose to call God today, but when I got to the halls of AA my
higher power was a group of drunks
If I share my experience with an agnostic
or atheist, I tell them its ok not to agree with my concept of a God, they can
choose any thing that makes sense to them, the main thing is to be willing to
believe in a Power greater than yourself and try to live by a set of principles
as they are explained in the 12 steps of Alcoholics anonymous
The Twelve Steps are a set of principles
“spiritual in their nature” if practiced as a way of life can expel the
obsession to drink and enable them to change their life around as we have, a
power grater then ourselves can be anything we chose it to be
I tell them about how I only knew the
vengeful and condemning God of my family’s religious belief I kicked that God
out of my life years ago, when I got my sponsor he told me straight out that
anyone can stop the hurt and pain of the day
But to change your life around you need a
power greater than yourself my first thought was I am now hopelessly lost, I
did not want this vengeful God in my life, he said why don't you try our God
the one of compassion, hope, love, and forgiveness
You don't have far to go to met this
wonderful God, He is right in your heart, but I like so many of us was to
closed minded to see that right then, but I did come to believe in Him later in
my sobriety after all it took many yes to get this way change was not
instantaneously
I tell them it’s a program of action, the
process starts with step one surrendering to the disease, admitting, and
accepting you are an alcoholic, and can’t drink in safety, if your like me you
have tried about everyway possible to find a way to drink like normal people
When I share how the 12 steps saved my
life, that I found A.A. is the only way I was going to stay sober, I talk about
the big fourth step where I got to know myself I had to straightened out my
past making amends along the way, for all the crap I pulled when I was drinking
One of the most important things I can
tell anyone is they need to get to meetings, learn how to listen to identify
with others and not try to compare their life to another, we all have a lot of
things in common and that is where we have to look
At just what things in common will help
us better understand ourselves, bottom live is it costs nothing to reach out
and talk to someone who is trying to find themselves, after all I do remember
when I was walking in their shoes
It is easy to talk to someone who is
looking for answers, it is hard at times to not offer advice, but I know I can
only suggest they try doing what I have done, get to meetings, listen with an
open mind and work the twelve steps into their life as I have
God bless you Al M
Please feel free to mail
suggestions or comments
