Stay strong indeed...I never expected a chip...didn't come for one and was surprised completely when I got my first one at 16 years,,,,Got careless and lost my 34 year chip 2 months before getting my last one.  I've never come for the chips...I've come for the ESH which keeps me sober and serene.   Keep coming back R...

I seem to have a different opinion than quite a few other posters on this board. I picked up a white chip on May 30, 2013. It was my fourth one over the last 8 years of attempts to get and stay sober. This is the longest "stretch" so far. I love my chips. With the exception of one meeting, which does not hand out chips (and was a topic which I posted on here a while ago) all the other meetings I attend hand out chips and one of them hands out a chip for each month under a year. The rest give out first day, one month, three months, 6 months, 9 months, year and multiple year chips. The chips have been a source of encouragement to me. I realize that the results which come from sobriety and working the program should be enough....however, "I love me chips"!
Also, if you slip, I hope you are not embarrassed to go pick up another white chip if you want to. Most of us have been there.
Another suggestion I might add is if you buy some poker chips and get a jar and chip yourself. I personally don't see anything wrong with doing this and if it helps motivate you to stay off alcohol it is a good thing.
You are in good company. So many alcoholics go out, like me and like you. I used to be embarrassed about that but not anymore. I am doing the best I can do to stay sober now, and the past is the past.
Good luck to you!

and Hugs your way!

-- Edited by betterthanyesterday52 on Thursday 13th of February 2014 08:39:47 AM

Pappy's right I agree, but since I haven't worked the steps and still have way too much of that pride hopefully after my first year I won't be placing so much importance on the chips. I do want to let other newcomers in the meeting know it can be done. It has been very disappointing to me to see quite a few newcomers get chips, only to see some of them not picking up subsequent chips, and worse....not coming back. (I always hope that they are still sober and attending other meetings, and a few have come back and have said that they slipped....and good for them for coming back.)

And......Pappy also triggered a memory of someone sharing early in my sobriety that they loved getting chips too and after that first year, and the chips didn't come, they actually went out and started drinking again and they thought it was because of just that reason I am using---they had used the chips as an incentive to stay sober rather than working the program the way they should have been doing! So that is a very negative thing about the chips and one which I will have to watch out for myself. And another thing which is open for opinions I want to bring up is clapping for others.....I love the clapping when I get chips and also clapping for others. I guess that is pride as well. One person brought up at meetings that clapping is a sign of ego and/or pride---I cannot remember the word he used. There is one man who has been sober for several years who says he never claps for people who go out and come back in to pick up another chip because he says that he is not going to let anyone think it is alright for them to slip in the first place. I know envy is a character defect, however, I really envy this man because it sounds like he has never gone out himself, like I have several times. However, I sure wouldn't not clap for someone for that reason because that sounds like it has more to do with me than the other guy. Just my own opinion.

betterthanyesterday52 wrote:

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Pappy's right I agree, but since I haven't worked the steps and still have way too much of that pride hopefully after my first year I won't be placing so much importance on the chips. I do want to let other newcomers in the meeting know it can be done. It has been very disappointing to me to see quite a few newcomers get chips, only to see some of them not picking up subsequent chips, and worse....not coming back. (I always hope that they are still sober and attending other meetings, and a few have come back and have said that they slipped....and good for them for coming back.)

And......Pappy also triggered a memory of someone sharing early in my sobriety that they loved getting chips too and after that first year, and the chips didn't come, they actually went out and started drinking again and they thought it was because of just that reason I am using---they had used the chips as an incentive to stay sober rather than working the program the way they should have been doing! So that is a very negative thing about the chips and one which I will have to watch out for myself. And another thing which is open for opinions I want to bring up is clapping for others.....I love the clapping when I get chips and also clapping for others. I guess that is pride as well. One person brought up at meetings that clapping is a sign of ego and/or pride---I cannot remember the word he used. There is one man who has been sober for several years who says he never claps for people who go out and come back in to pick up another chip because he says that he is not going to let anyone think it is alright for them to slip in the first place. I know envy is a character defect, however, I really envy this man because it sounds like he has never gone out himself, like I have several times. However, I sure wouldn't not clap for someone for that reason because that sounds like it has more to do with me than the other guy. Just my own opinion.

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 It never ceases to amaze me how there's always someone at a meeting who can turn anything into a negative.  Clapping is "bad" for people who have gone out and come back?  Maybe this man would feel better if the person stayed out and died.  People go out, people don't go out; why can't I just be happy that someone is at an AA meeting because they've been sober for 24 hours?  My first year of sobriety, those chips meant the world to me, and it wasn't because of pride or ego or anything else.  I was amazed that I had, with the help of the people around me, and the program , stayed sober for 2 mos, 6 mos and so on.  If you look at my key ring right now, my 7 year chip has a hole drilled through it and is there amongst my keys.  I look at it each day and thank god that I have made it another day sober, living a life second to none.  If that bothers others, then that's their problem.

 

Let me clarify one thing here ... it's not that I have any problem with picking up a yearly chip(medallion), it's how the individual carries themselves with this accomplishment ... some do so in very 'humble' ways, which is what I learned from our principles (I feel I did NOT earn this chip, but rather acquired it by the 'Grace of God' ... He made this possible, not me and my way of thinking and acting) ... ... ... however, I frequently see and/or hear those that carry their 'years of sobriety' in a way that is 'boastful' ... this is where I have a problem ... and, of course, that can all be in the 'perception' of the those around such members ...

Ha, Pappy...I thought about framing my chips...how's that for boastful? And Mike D.....what a nice thing to do...but I'm a long way off from that as I am greedy about me chips and want 'em all for myself. (Of course, I am a long way off from sponsoring anyone, too.) But I hear there is hope for me.

Now I know that I should not be proud of feeling the way I do.....I'm just being honest. There are times when we run out of chips at the meeting. They have asked people to bring back their chips and recycle them....you want to know what I did? I bought a box of poker chips. I am thinking about taking them to meetings to have in case we run out. I don't know how they will feel about that though--getting a chip which is intended for gambling (which is an addiction for some people) at an AA meeting????? Guess I should do the right thing and take my own.....I'm feeling a bit ashamed of myself for my greedy and boastful self right now.

Hey  guys  I  just  want  to  thank  you  all  for  your  very  informative  responses.  I  didn't  dream  that  I'd  get  such  a  reaction.  I  believe  that  it  is  not  so  important  about  the  chips  thing  as  it  is  for  a  person  to  know

that  they  are  confronting  a  huge  beast  (alcohol)  and  winning  day  by  day,  hour  by  hour,  keeping  that  beast  in  it's  cage  with  sobriety.  That,  I  know.  Even  as  a  newbie  (half  a  century  old,  newbie),  I  am  greatful  to  have  found  this  site  and  I'm  looking  forward  to  sharing  with  you  all,  my  experiences,  past  and  present.  We'll  get  by  with  a  little  help  from  our  friends !  God  bless,  Grammercy,  Good Day !     ....Ricky61

BTY, ... you won't believe this ... last week I stopped and had a sandwich in the early afternoon and threw a couple of those 'mini' dill pickles on the plate ... shortly, I went back to the fridge and ate nearly the whole jar of little pickles, LOL ... why is that ??? ... insanity ??? ...

That's right, John....and you can't eat them either. They are just a piece of plastic which symbolize something but aren't the real deal like actually maintaining sobriety and I agree with Pappy that it is my HP that is the reason I have been and am able to stay sober and I am very grateful for that.

But I love me chips...Lays in a can (better than Pringles to me)...and those mini pickles...I could eat a whole jar of those, too Pappy...but in my case...why eat pickles when I can eat my chocolate cake?

Hi  Dave,  I'm  glad  you  asked  that  question.  I  have  not  attended  a  meeting  since  I  can't  remember.  But,  I  am  going  to  go  to  one  this  week.  The  last  one  I  went  to  was  very  informative  and  humorous  as  well.  All  of  the  people  there  were  very  friendly.  I  remember  that  they  wanted  me  to  come  back,  but  I  guess  I  just  hadn't  hit  rock  bottom  then.  I  remember  a  guy  there  telling  his  story  about  every  time  he  drank  he  would  end  up  out  on  the  highway,   walking  naked  as   a  jaybird,  got  arrested  a  couple  of  times  and  decided   he  needed  help,  said  he  barely  remembered  it.  Wow.  I  have  some  similar  stories  that  I  should  share.  If  we  can't  laugh  at  ourselves,  we're  not  human.

I think yearly sobriety chips can often mean different things to different people.  Here's a glimpse of what they've always meant to me:  Having usually carried my chip in my pocket with me every day, I would often take it out and look at it to remind me of the gift of sobriety that I've been given.  This helped me the most when I'd been having a difficult or stressful day at work, for it would cause me to say a quick "thank you" prayer in the middle of my day and feel grateful.  I always knew I had not "accomplished" sobriety.  It was given to me.  I've always known that all I ever did was open my hands to receive a gift from God.  In addition to that, the words inscribed on the back of the coin, "To Thine Own Self Be True", have continually reminded me to always be honest with myself.

Chips are a small thing that can have a big meaning and I've always felt that they're an important and a tangible part of A.A. that we can actually hold in our hands.  One of the most moving things I ever saw was when a person got a chip at a spiritual retreat.  She passed it around in the group and asked us to pray with it.  So, each one of us held it in our hands while saying a silent prayer for her.  It had a big impact on her, and it meant a lot to the rest of us too.

Anyway, that's my take on sobriety chips.  Blessings to all of you, Mike D.

Hi BTY, Believe me, I completely understand what you mean when you say that you were struck by the fact that you were able to get through some difficult times without drinking.  It looks like you were obviously well aware that you hadn't stayed sober by your own will power, or by determination.  It was God's loving Power that had kept you sober.  That's why we call it a miracle.  I distinctly remember  first becoming aware of God's Power in my life several months after I got sober in January of 1988.  In the latter part of that year, my dad died of brain cancer.  It was devastating to lose him because I was very close to him.  Weeks after it was all over, I thought to myself, "Wow!  I can't believe I didn't drink over this!  Everyone in my family would've surely expected it.  I actually should've drank over this!  But....somehow I'm still sober!"

I knew it wasn't my doing.  I knew that it was God protecting me.  That was a big moment for me.  Blessings, Mike D.