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dgillz · 07-15-2008, 03:48 AM

I have 2 examples, first my own experience and one of the guys in my home group.

In one of my first voluntary AA meetings they asked if there were any newcomers at the meeting and I introduced myself and said "I am here to beat my addiction".

After the meeting an oldtimer came up to me and said "Son, you aren't going to beat anything in there, your ass has already been whipped".

This pissed me off, but when I thought about it, he was right. What was there left to fight? King Alcohol, at 10ft tall and 600lbs in one corner, me in the other, and did I really need to go a few more rounds to determine who would win?

At that point I finally understood surrender and for the first time, actually took step 1 to heart. The rest of the steps followed. If I had not surrendered I am not sure I would be alive today.

A guy at my home group used to sober up for 2 or 3 weeks, go out and get beat up by booze, sober up for a couple of weeks, and repeat the whole cycle several times. Another guy that was trying to help him said he was retreating from, not surrendering to, alcohol.

Retreat means to disengage from the battle with hopes of fighting and winning the war at some point in the future. Surrender means you give up, the other party has won not just the battle but the war.

Drawing this picture for him helped him surrender and take the steps.

For what it is worth, I think surrender is completely a step 1 thing. Steps 2 thru 12 won't take without surrender in step 1.

07-15-2008, 03:48 AM	#5 (permalink)
dgillz Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Mobile, AL Posts: 3,459	I have 2 examples, first my own experience and one of the guys in my home group. In one of my first voluntary AA meetings they asked if there were any newcomers at the meeting and I introduced myself and said "I am here to beat my addiction". After the meeting an oldtimer came up to me and said "Son, you aren't going to beat anything in there, your ass has already been whipped". This pissed me off, but when I thought about it, he was right. What was there left to fight? King Alcohol, at 10ft tall and 600lbs in one corner, me in the other, and did I really need to go a few more rounds to determine who would win? At that point I finally understood surrender and for the first time, actually took step 1 to heart. The rest of the steps followed. If I had not surrendered I am not sure I would be alive today. A guy at my home group used to sober up for 2 or 3 weeks, go out and get beat up by booze, sober up for a couple of weeks, and repeat the whole cycle several times. Another guy that was trying to help him said he was retreating from, not surrendering to, alcohol. Retreat means to disengage from the battle with hopes of fighting and winning the war at some point in the future. Surrender means you give up, the other party has won not just the battle but the war. Drawing this picture for him helped him surrender and take the steps. For what it is worth, I think surrender is completely a step 1 thing. Steps 2 thru 12 won't take without surrender in step 1. __________________ He should be fine...if he survives the detox process that is..... Any quotes from the big book of AA are from the first edition, or are otherwise exempt from copyright infringement under the "fair use doctrine".