Daily Reflections

[CarolD]

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*

A GREAT PARADOX

These legacies of suffering and of recovery are easily passed among alcoholics, one to the other. This is our gift from God, and its bestowal upon others like us is the one aim that today animates A.A.'s all around the globe.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, P. 151

The great paradox of A.A. is that I know I cannot keep the precious gift of sobriety unless I give it away.

My primary purpose is to stay sober. In A.A. I have no other goal, and the importance of this is a matter of life or death for me. If I veer from this purpose I lose. But A.A. is not only for me; it is for the alcoholic who still suffers. The legions of recovering alcoholics stay sober by sharing with fellow alcoholics. The way to my recovery is to show others in A.A. that when I share with them, we both grow in the grace of the Higher Power, and both of us are on the road to a happy destiny.



Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

[jimhere]

From Daily Afflictions, April 30th:
"My primary purpose is to stay sober. In A.A. I have no other goal, and the importance of this is a matter of life or death for me. If I veer from this purpose I lose. But A.A. is not only for me; it is for the alcoholic who still suffers. The legions of recovering alcoholics stay sober by sharing with fellow alcoholics."

Where in the book does it talk about my primary purpose is to stay sober? That quote is something heard in the format of most meetings and was printed and copyrighted by The GrapeVine in the late '40's. That's why The GrapeVine really is our meeting in print. Both it and Daily Reflections are areflection of our current fellowship.

Our primary spiritual aim is not to stay sober. Our primary spiritual aim is to carry our message to others. Therefore it becomes my primary purpose. "To show others precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book.." And therefore my main purpose in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Doctor Silkworth was struck by the community spirit and absence of profit motive he saw in early AA. Later on in Chapter 11, it talks about how at first they realized that they must remain spiritually active if they were to remain sober, which at first was their primary reason for working with others, that motive became transcended by a higher motive, which is the joy found in the giving of one's self to others with no thought of reward.

Doing this work to stay sober only reinforces the "This is a selfish program" B.S. heard in motives. Doing this work to stay sober makes sobriety a profit motive. If I stick to my primary spiritual aim, staying sober is not even something I worry about. Haven't worried about it for a long time.

So there is a higher motive in AA than staying sober. I don't do this to stay sober, I do it because I am sober. I am not driven by the threat of a drink hanging over my head. I do this because I love to do it.
Jim

[navysteve]

The way to my recovery is to show others in A.A. that when I share with them, we both grow in the grace of the Higher Power, and both of us are on the road to a happy destiny.

That says alot right there, if I am not showing others in AA what has been shared with me then I am spitting in the face of the greatest gift I have ever received. But like the Big Book says:

But obviously you cannot transmit something you ha ven't got. See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us.

I can't transmit something I don't have, so if I am not sober, how can I be of maximum service to the still sick and suffering alcoholic? Yes, I must stay sober first. Although I believe the problem has been removed, many examples have shown me that I am not impervious to a drink. Resting on my laurels can get me drunk. Pride can also get me drunk, thinking I know better cuts me off from you. I need AA today more than I did when I first got here. I am not hiding out, I am where God wants me to be. I hate the catch phrases, the chanting, the cult-like behavior at both mainstream and so-called fundamental AA meetings, but at both, there are newcomers dying for answers. I have to be alot of things to reach them ( accepting, loving, friendly etc...) but first I must be sober...