A message I’ve been getting from some AA members with long term sobriety is that alcoholics are wired differently than normal people and life is always going to be filled with challenges.
I am taking this to mean that I am always going to have a tendency to over-react (anger, fear, worry, frustration - character defects) to life’s challenges. This tendency will never go away but AA/spiritual principles will help me deal with things in a better way - not necessarily with serenity & grace - just better.
I’m not saying that life is one big mountain to climb or that it’s all pain & suffering. For the most part, it’s good. It’s just that I can take a normal life challenge, blow it out of proportion, and drive myself crazy thinking about it unless I use the tools of AA and practice spiritual principles to help lessen the impacts on my mental/emotional wellbeing.
Is this a contradiction to what I read in the Big Book? I was talking with my sponsor last night and, in a joking way, I was asking “where is my peaceful, serene sobriety?” “Where are those promises?” Does the Big Book set the bar too high (“promises” = perfection)?
I guess I am trying to get a better handle on what I am facing. Do I accept my character defects and work towards mitigating their impacts of my life or do I keep expecting to have them eliminated all-together (a frustrating, seemingly impossible process)?
I feel like I’m asking for the secret to life.
