I met an AA once. The oddest character I was yet to meet. A nurse who dressed in Hawaiian shirts, wore a ring through his nose and he rode a lovely Heritage.
He didn't want to know about the big book. He couldn't read it, he said. "I can't get into it".
"Well, how do you expect to get sober?" I asked him, thinking maybe he just wanted free coffee.
He just grinned at me and walked away.
The following week, I found he was chairing a meeting on the other side of town. He asked me to share. It was the first time I ever said No. I still don't know why I said No. I just kept watching him, goofing about in the chair. Was he even listening?
I was on a Valentines bike run a few weeks later, and from out of nowhere comes the roar of a bandanna clad harley rider, who cuts in front of me and nods into his rear-view mirror. I start grinning and wondering if he's nodding because he saw me admiring his cute buns... When we get to the next stop (a pub) I saw him pull up and someone commented on his bike. He whips of the bandanna and I realise it's that odd little AA dude...
He says to the guy "This is what you get when you stop drinking mate!" He waves at me.
A few weeks later, I'm asked to do a school visit. He's there and it's his first one. Just tell your story and you'll be fine, I reassure him.
He stands up and introduces himself and says: "I don't drink." He looks around and everyone waits. "That's it. There is no miracle to report. No magic. Life sucked, so I stopped drinking. I go to AA because it helps me stay stopped. I don't know how or why, but it does. I've stayed sober for 8 years and I don't ever want to drink again. That's it. I don't drink."
I fell in love with that member and he is now a part of my life, reminding me to keep it simple on a daily basis, and reminding me that we all have our own programs - we do what works. I worked a very complicated program for a long time. I have a tendency to overdo things. I was constantly going over the big book and digging and delving through my own motives and actions. I ran myself ragged in active service, visiting rehabs, A&E and prisons, constantly afraid that at any minute I could 'tilt' and lose everything.
He still smiles and calls me a "complicated little thing", but that's okay. It's slowly got a lot less complicated and I am learning not to run off into useless analysis. I used to overload myself dangerously. Cliches, steps, traditions, daily reflections... I studied them all like I was preparing for the ultimate exam, but the one thing I really had to learn, was simple:
Nic, I loved this post, it made me smile. Keep it simple....I needed that so much when I found the program 14 years ago. I remember hearing KISS ( Keep It Simple, Stupid) the first time and it became a prayer just like the Serenity Prayer.I was such a complicated person, now I sometimes fill brain dead cause my mind is at rest....Wow, what a wonderful feeling.
Nic, I loved this post, it made me smile. Keep it simple....I needed that so much when I found the program 14 years ago. I remember hearing KISS ( Keep It Simple, Stupid) the first time and it became a prayer just like the Serenity Prayer.I was such a complicated person, now I sometimes fill brain dead cause my mind is at rest....Wow, what a wonderful feeling.