Alcoholics Anonymous Blog & Video July 29 2014
Step seven shortcomings: the difficulty of being open, honest and willing; courage to change, faith by trying to do the next right thing, confidence developing because we keep on trying new ways to live, without throwing out good ways to live which we have, sometimes these traits are buried deep. In this difficult world, surrounded by people living in their defects of character, in the company of thieves, or in the company of those with fear pride and ego, we can find ourselves struggling in this world where life is difficult. When in Rome? It is not always right to do what the Romans do, better to leave Rome.
I was having a chat with mum the other day who has a two-year-old. The two-year-old easily picks up on all the bad things that they hear and can repeat them over and over again, driving mum mad because she does not use these words in his company. And yet the two-year-old knows that the use of bad words makes mum feel awkward. The more you tell a two-year-old not to use bad words, the more likely they will? Seems to be true in general. And back in the day when I used to drink alcohol, even though I might be the last man standing, one or two girlfriends back then were quite emphatic that I ought not to drink so much, I drank more and they left. Job done! Terrible.
Even though on the way to alcoholics anonymous, some people were emphatically sure but I was not an alcoholic, they had to admit in the end that I was an alcoholic. And yet I didn't believe them or anybody else, alcohol was my best friend in those isolated times, until the time came when I could not stop drinking and I had no clue what to do. If I had known where I was headed with alcohol, any amount of education would not apply to me, because my pride and ego and my experience always made it okay to drink. Now in recovery, I have no problem admitting I'm an alcoholic, and accepting it every time I wake up, and then it ceases to be a problem one day at a time. Courage to accept, faith and trusting the truth and the confidence to learn life with freedoms beyond my imagination in the past.
Grief and loss: often heartbreak is so complete, living at all just does not feel worthwhile. And death, and then the loss of a relationship, with the girl of my dreams and my reality at that time, certainly tipped me over into grief stricken times. Loss of loved ones is a continual process and never ends. Some look for closure and death does afford acceptance to an extent, at the same time heartbreak and a partner still alive can be even more excruciating. The desire to get back what we had, to be in love again feels impossible. And starting over is not a consideration. Over and over, the rollercoaster of grief: denial and disbelief, anger and resentment, frustration to depression is on the path to acceptance. And acceptance to me is seeing and cherishing and remembering the good, the good and the love that sustained us back then. And acceptance may take a lifetime of cherishing ourselves and whatever it is and whoever it was that we have lost. Step one: to admit and accept our current state, our emotions in the moment is always good for me, and I don't know about you. And the rollercoaster keeps on going as long as it takes, backwards and forwards, because we are human.
To admit and to accept that I'm an alcoholic, and could be addicted to anything is always a good starting point. It is always in this acceptance of who I am that I gain my freedom of choice on a daily basis. If I hide my situation from myself let alone anyone else, I cannot help myself and I cannot be helped by other people whether the day is wonderfully good or horribly bad. If people know me they can help me. If people don't know me, they can only guess even if they have an inkling, they could be wrong.
Step Seven Video Reading 12 And 12
Alcoholics Anonymous Videos, AA is for Alcoholics, AA 12 Steps, Addiction And Recovery, DonInLondon, Don Oddy,
No comments:
Post a Comment