The Calm After The Storm
From “Language Of The Heart,” written in August, 1946,
“Who Is A Member Of Alcoholics Anonymous?”
How did they/do we, handle someone who is drunk at a meeting?
“If a member persists in coming to meetings drunk he may be led outside; we may ask someone to take him away. But in most groups he can come back next day, if sober. Though he may be thrown out of a club, nobody thinks of throwing him out of AA. He is a member as long as he says he is. While this broad concept of AA membership is not yet unanimous, it does represent the main current of AA thought today. We do not wish to deny anyone his chance to recover from alcoholism. We wish to be just as inclusive as we can, never exclusive.
Perhaps this trend signifies something much deeper than a mere change of attitude on the question of membership. Perhaps it means that we are losing all fear of those violent emotional storms which sometimes cross our alcoholic world; perhaps it bespeaks our confidence that every storm will be followed by a calm; a calm which is more understanding, more compassionate, more tolerant than any we ever knew before.”
Applied to a personal reality of the day, I can only hope that the ignoramus my boss attempted to mold me into this day is countered by and overcome by my own sober understanding of the truth about myself. If I could only tell her to her face “Don’t ask me to make such an incredibly ignorant decision that makes no sense to anyone but you. You’re wrong and you will eventually lose.” But I won’t say that to her face. You don’t know, so it is safe here… just part of “the story.”
The calm after the storm will eventually reveal itself and she’ll be part of my history.
Tags: 11th-Tradition, alcoholics-anonymous, gratitude, RecoveryRelated Stories
POSTED IN: The Eleventh Step, The Twelve Traditions
0 opinions for The Calm After The Storm
No one has left a comment yet. You know what this means, right? You could be first!
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: