You’ll Get Out What You’ve Put In
And much, much more…
They (yeah, those old-timers) told me if I put half as much effort into getting sober as I put into my drinking I’d be okay. Now, this is not to say put in a half-assed effort. If I put in a half-assed effort I won’t be getting half drunk I’ll be getting 100% wasted and then some. The idea is to put in something akin to the same kind of effort I made to find my next drink. Plan my next meeting. What am I willing to do to make that meeting. Have my priorities in order. Know who my next phone call will be. Spot the newcomer. Shake a newcomers’ hand. Plan who I’ll ask when I have a challenge. Revolve my new life around sobriety rather than around that next drink. Things like these.
Here is an excerpt from a pamphlet that was distributed in the “old” days in Akron;
“Always keep it before you that the more you put into this work the more you will take out of it. The harder you work, the more activities you get into, the easier will be your road to sober living. There is no excuse for missing a meeting. There is no excuse for not helping someone when asked to. Always bear in mind that your alcoholic problem is the first thing in your life. It comes before everything else. For without sobriety you will have nothing — no family, no job, no friends. And before too long you will have no sanity — and will lose life itself. Share this new life with others. It will repay you ten thousandfold.
In conclusion, practice these steps in all your affairs. The Twelve Steps are not something to be gone through once and then forgotten. They are a set of rules for living that must be practiced at all times, never forgotten. Remember that you are an alcoholic, and but one drink away from drunkenness again.
Remember that you are completely dependent on God as you understand Him.
Remember to keep your thinking straight.
Remember that a wrong act will prey on your mind until you either do something to rectify it or get drunk.
Remember that defects will creep into your life if given half a chance.
Remember that if only through gratitude, we must help others in order to help ourselves.
And if at any time you feel uncertain of yourself, read the Twelve Steps carefully, applying them to yourself. You will find an answer to your problem.
If the answer is not there, a telephone call or a visit to another member of AA will bring the answer.”
The descendents of these folks are those who passed this type of tough love on to me - Thank God!
Tags: 12-Steps, alcoholics-anonymous, fellowship, gratitudeRelated Stories
POSTED IN: The 12 Steps
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