Seriously though, don't all the catchphrases, lingo and cliche tidbits off unsolicited wisdom get on your nerves too. I ignore it for the most part and try to just stick to the program of recovery as outlined in the book but I often feel like I'm dealing with a bunch of brainwashed AAbots. Sometimes I feel like sanest person in the room...and that's frightening.
Unfortunately I haven't actually punched anyone...I've only daydreamed about it :)
Seriously though, don't all the catchphrases, lingo and cliche tidbits off unsolicited wisdom get on your nerves too. I ignore it for the most part and try to just stick to the program of recovery as outlined in the book but I often feel like I'm dealing with a bunch of brainwashed AAbots. Sometimes I feel like sanest person in the room...and that's frightening.
Used to. Sometimes (depending on where I am spiritually) they still can. The longer I stay sober the more I've come to realize that a) those 'sayings' really do put the simple in the program b) some (some) AA's only Parrot what they hear (I've come to a point that I can mostly recognize those that work a good program) and c) when I share them with others (with sincerity) they really do work for me and help me to make that connection between my head and my heart.
There is NO WAY you're the sanest, as that position belongs to me!
The kicker of them all "when something bothers me, there's something wrong with me"........
Hang in there, darlin' - it gets better, then different, then better, then different..........One day at the time!
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Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain.
Tipsy McStagger wrote:Seriously though, don't all the catchphrases, lingo and cliche tidbits off unsolicited wisdom get on your nerves too.
yes they did when they defined me as being behind the curve, indicating that I wasn't where I thought (or I would've liked) to have been. I absolutely hated a lot of the one liners and thought that were for morons. I also thought that I much smarter and less sicker than most. Later I realized that I was sicker and that my own iteligence asessment was overrated, and that the amount that I did posess, wasn't an asset as far as recovery was concerned.
I had a old timer, in the "Brain damage group" (men's meeting) tell me that the 4 things that get in the way of recovery are Youth, Health, Weath, and Brains. And for a lot of us, we will have to lose some of those assets before we gather the gifts of willingness and desparation. It's a very unfair trade, but unfortuneately a neccessary one.
I think I posted last year that the phrases just didnt sit well with me. Then one day...BANG?RING/Dong....a bell went off and I actually got it! I mean really got it!!!! Believe it or not, they are all so true somedays!!! My sponsor used to drive me mad with, "youre right where you are supposed to be!" Augghhh! But, today, I really am right where I need to be and it feels so dang good!
Great to see you posting!!!
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"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have. "
I had a old timer, in the "Brain damage group" (men's meeting) tell me that the 4 things that get in the way of recovery are Youth, Health, Weath, and Brains.
That's true. I've seen examples of all. Wealth may be the most insidious of all, because not all alcoholics squander their wealth. I know someone who is certain to die richer than I'll ever be, he is in no danger of losing it, and he's not likely to get a DUI or get in trouble with the law. He's his own enabler, and his wealth isolates him from the consequences of his drinking. It also has allowed him to isolate from friends (as in, not having any) and I can't picture him at an AA meeting. He's just above it all. I could see him going to a Bahama luxury rehab, but not to AA. He has worked his whole life (was not born wealthy) for the privilege of separating himself from the great unwashed. I can't see him humbled to the point of sitting in a room full of real people - as one of them. I could be completely wrong, but whenever the subject of alcoholism comes up between us, it's obvious that he's picking my brain for the "secret of AA" so he can go look it up or read about it, or in some way get it without having to go sit in a room full of drunks. I guess that's pride more than wealth, but wealth allows one to perpetuate pride indefinitely.
I never thought I'd ever say this, but I'm glad I'm not rich. If I was born to money, or had struck it at a young age (I once fancied myself as the next Bill Gates), I doubt if I would have ever even considered recovery. It's humbling - as Jim the car salesman says in the Big Book - to "work for a company I once owned". But there are trade-offs.
As to the brains part... actually, I think most alcoholics are intelligent people. I don't think I've had to become stupid to get sober, although that's exactly what I thought, and was even WILLING to do, when I walked through the doors of AA the first time. I am not one to say, don't think, or just sit down and shut up - I didn't do it that way, although it obviously works exactly that way for many people. I have tried it, but usually doesn't last long. Thinking is ok, as long as I don't think myself out the door and into the beer section at the convenience store. I think where intellect is a problem - and it was for me - is when we think we have to know everything before proceeding. The brain approach is to learn everything there is to know about the program, debate it, understand how it works, come up with a plan, and then begin the program. Of course few people who take that approach (and keep studying over drinks) ever really get to step one. I found that understanding comes from doing, not the other way around. It makes sense really - I've always learned most things on the job. Sobriety is no different. Life isn't about figuring it out, and then acting. It's about suiting up and showing up every day. God's will for me today? I have no idea. Ask me at 11:59 pm this evening, when I can review my day and then I'll know what God's will for me was.
No, they don't bother me. They remind me that this is a lot simpler than I often make it out to be. They help me get out of this complicated second-guessing mind, and into a place where I can actually be PRACTICAL about recovery, even when it isn't in my own makeup.
Maybe you need a good "brain-washing"? I know I did.
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~Your Higher Power has not given you a longing to do that which you have no ability to do.
hi there i just wanted to start sharing , without aa i would be brain dead for me these parrot phrases have worked wonders for this weak selof willed racer of a brain and they always held depth for me when the old habitual thinking steps in, * i deserve a bit of fun _ it's the first drink that gets me drunk * will i always be aloner - you need never be alone * what's the use - here your imagination will be fired become useful * feel like giving up i'm too young - keep coming back never give up hope without these one liners i'ld of never got the message, i appreciate your side of it cause were not all the same and hey would'nt it be boring if we were !! take it easy
