[nandm]

Day 5

Humor as a tool

"Humor is an affirmation of dignity, a declaration of man's superiority to all that befalls him." Roman Gary

Of the many jokes concerning the plethora of anonymous groups, one is about an imaginary fellowship called Bachelors Anonymous. When a member finds himiself leaning toward matrimony, he calls his sponsor who brings over a woman who has her hair in curlers and is wearing a dirty bathrobe, no makeup, and beat-up bunny slippers. This immediately cures the bachelor's desire to get married.

Sponsorship evolved to offer new members of self-help groups the support of a friend who's been there before, someone who has a successful track record for maintaining an addiction-free lifestyle. The majority of the groups we discussed in our preface follow this same practice, simply because it has proven to be of such value.

The more we uncover our past addictions, the more we discover the absurdity of our present attitudes. As we make these discoveries, humor becomes a valuable tool in allowing us to temper self-judgement. IF we assume that being clean and sober means living our lives somberly, foregoing all frivolous, enjoyable and spontaneous behavior, the price is simply not worth the effort. Although our undertaking is a serious one, it's not necessary that we approach it in a manner of "gloom and doom."

Today's Step: I get glimpses of sanity when I can laugh at myself.

Step by Step. Muriel Zink