Resentments

[toad]

I have almost 10 years of being sober and clean from all mind or mood altering chemicals or drugs. I am very grateful to God, AA, and NA. From my own experience I think that the amount of love that grew out of my program from years 2-5 was probably the best. As I look around and take other peoples inventory (we all do it even if we don't like to admit it), I find that some of the best years for service are from 5 to 15 years. It seems to me that when people reach the years 20 to 30 that there is an attitude. Kind of like "My way or the highway."

Knowing that "Resentment is the number one offender, it destroys more alcoholics than anything else," why do alcholoics in recovery still hold on and carry grudges? I think that after some time of sobriety, it is possible to have resentments and not have the desire to get drunk. To just live a life as a sober azzhole. There is a certain amount of negative egotism that goes along with carrying a grudge. There is even a high that goes along with being pizzed off. We sober alcoholics may not drink, but we can sure make it hard for others.

I rode several hundred miles this past 4th of July weekend, and took part in a PGR fundraiser for a disabled veteran. I love our vets.

God is still doing for me what I could not do for myself..........toad

[best]

Originally Posted by toad

I find that some of the best years for service are from 5 to 15 years. It seems to me that when people reach the years 20 to 30 that there is an attitude. Kind of like "My way or the highway."

Knowing that "Resentment is the number one offender, it destroys more alcoholics than anything else," why do alcholoics in recovery still hold on and carry grudges? I think that after some time of sobriety, it is possible to have resentments and not have the desire to get drunk. To just live a life as a sober azzhole. There is a certain amount of negative egotism that goes along with carrying a grudge. There is even a high that goes along with being pizzed off. We sober alcoholics may not drink, but we can sure make it hard for others.

I am still peeling the onion.
1-2 years... I found was starting to learn.
2-5 years... I found was learning to grow.
5 + years... I am peeling the onion still.

Over time I have been hardheaded and stubborn. I know what works and I know what doesn't work. We seldom see a person fail who has followed His path.
If you just do it this way, you will find the answers.

Well, in my growth I have realized that a big part of my eyes becoming opened was the pain and struggles I have been through. If not for the experiences and pains of life, my eyes may never had opened.
I find that the more I learn about Al Anon, the more I understand the letting go and letting God part of helping others.
As I peel back another layer of the onion, I start to see that the tools of AA help me stay sober but the tools of Al Anon seem to help me help others better.
Just as a baby is born from darkness into the light and starts to grow and learn, I have found that the pains and struggles in my life have been a part of my new birth.
Resentments?
If not for such things, I may never have been born into the light I now see.
Onward and upward..No regretes.

[toad]

Originally Posted by best

Well, in my growth I have realized that a big part of my eyes becoming opened was the pain and struggles I have been through.

Thanks Best, nothing grows on the mountain top, but.........in the valley's, we find the flowers of life.

share this with me........

"They told me that giving was living, and living was loving, and loving was God. And you don't have to worry about God, because He's sitting right in front of your eyes.You get just a little sobriety, and you get just a little humility. Not much, just a little. Not the humility of sackcloth and ashes, but the humility of a man who's glad he's alive and can serve. You get just a little tolerance, not too much, but just enough to sit and listen to the other guy. . .And you realize that if you put all this together, you get a little humility, a little tolerance, a little honesty, a little serenity, a little prayer, and a lot of AA."

Experience, Strength and Hope.........pages 201-202

[Hurricane]

Sometimes I find myself mistakenly thinking that the longer I haven't drank, the more qualified I am to know what is , and to have a justifiable resentment.