Those of you who are not in a 12-step program can disregard this post. I'm just mildly confused about something I heard this evening. Personally, I have been a sober member of Alcoholics Anonymous for almost 16 years so I been around the block a few times. I just wish I knew half as much as what everybody thinks I think I know.
In the book "Alcoholics Anonymous", which many of us refer to as the Big Book, on page xvii, it makes a reference to bringing the message of hope to the still suffering alcoholic and I quote, "By late 1937, the number of members having substantial sobriety time behind them was sufficient to convince the membership that a new light had entered the dark world of the alcoholic." The italics are mine. Substantial sobriety time in this case was approximately two years.
But many members say that since it's a one day at a time program that "the person who woke up earliest this morning is the person with the most sobriety." That sounds witty and even makes a bit of sense, but really now....which is more substantial: two years or one day? If I wanted to learn how to do CPR, should I be trained by someone who's been practicing it every day for two years, or by someone who learned how to do it at 5 a.m. this morning.
Know what I mean, jellybean?
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments must be approved by the moderator. If you do not have a Google account, choose Anonymous.