Ch 5. AA book. The 1st thing you are going to hear is our story. You might like the story or you may not. It's the story of an alcoholic. When we finish tell you our story, we are going to ask you whether you want what we have. Note it does not ask whether you liked the story. We also do not tell, we disclose. That means I open my heart to you, to look at my life. If I tell you won't listen. If I disclose you will want to see. I will disclose to you what my life was like. I will disclose to you what happened in my life. I will disclose to you what my life is like now. The essence of my story, is one of failure because of a chemical addiction, surrender to a power greater than myself, and success now, as a result of that power working in my life. Success is differently interpreted by different people. For me success is the action of a power greater than myself in my life, thus allowing me, to enjoy a life of rest, peace and happiness. I used to be restless, irritable and discontented. The purpose of the AA book is to enable me to find this power. That implies that I am unable to find the power on my own. God bless. Gonee.
Thanks for posting. Interesting. Just being honest here, but I've always found the "if you want what we have" an incredibly arrogant passage. It sounds like the "cool kids" saying "you might be able to be like us if you do these things."
For that matter, I most certainly do not want what some people in the rooms have. Not too long ago, I heard a chair by a guy many years sober who talked about how he still spends thousands of smackers on chat lines and at the dog track. lol...eerr...
All I want is not to drink. And I am grateful to AA, which includes each and every one of you guys on here, for showing me how to do that, one day at a time.
Steve
-- Edited by SteveP on Wednesday 14th of April 2010 05:47:13 AM
Awesome! AA most powerful tool is one alcoholic relating to another as only they can. This is why it's so very important to develop relationships in the fellowship in order to learn how to live a sober life. I was very fortunate to have a home to rent rooms to AAs with 3,5,7 years of sobriety, when I only had 6 months myself. It was invaluable for me to see how functional these folks were and tag along with them to meetings and social gatherings. In a short time, their friends became my friends and my network grew, and so did the extracurricular activities that I was invited and involved in. This process literally saved my life, as it was quickly proven to me that this program works well, recovering folks could live a very good life and become extremely happy. This gave me something very valuable to work and set goals for.
I frequently say "They have not improved on telling what it was like, what happend and what its like today."
When I sobered up in Hawaii, most discussion meetings followed that format. Each person would share what it was like, what happend and what its like today. I Identified with so many stories and I sure wanted some of the what its like today that I saw in people. I kept coming back to learn more about "what happend".
When I came to AA I was convinced in my sick mind that while I may drink too much at times I was not an alcoholic. By listening to people relate what it was like, what happend and what its like today I identified and came to the realization that I was an alcoholic also.
That began a whole wonderful new life for me that I had not dreamed possible.
Larry, ------------------ It wasn't my drinking, it was my thinking.
Great Post. I always try to sit with eyes closed when listening to How it Works.....always refreshes me.
To someones response: Interest preception of "if you want what we have" I was a person that spent years in the basement with these Disease, and when I started to really take in that part, my thoughts were, "If you really don't want to end up dead, and want to not drink one day at a time....we have the solution" And yes, to my mind they were the cool guys and gals, as in the ones that had a life, and not coming out of a blackout every morning of their lives. Cool would not be a word I would have used, but they had what I wanted, collectively, and I was then ready to do what ever it took, to not die a drunk. I find opening up and talking about our personal preceptions of semantics, always facinating....
Thank You Gonee for this Post. You are becoming a real treasure to this recoverying alke.
Toni
-- Edited by Just Toni on Wednesday 14th of April 2010 11:35:07 AM
I too have no problem with "wanting what we have"...never took it as a "better than" thing...took it as my life was close enough to being over, and dragging my child into the death-zone with me, that, yeah, I sure-as-shootin' wanted what they had.
And I got it! I have it! WOW.
Now, about the topic...the text says disclose "in a general way", and I take that to mean that I may to spare you the detailed drunkalogue of my active alcoholism (and you may please spare me your endless detailed drunkalogue-our stories are essentially the same, at base, and that gets real old real quick..except of course for the emotional and entertainment value, which we all respond to LOL)). I have come to see that I give the most, when I am the speaker, if I stick to a general BRIEF disclosure about what happened, and a slightly longer bit on what it was like, and then devote the majority of my alloted time to what it is like now. I also get the most support for my own "recovery" when I hear more about what it is like now (and how you keep it that way), compared to the trauma & drama of the past.
