ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
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Assuming we are spiritually fit, we can do all sorts
of things alcoholics are not supposed to do. People
have said we must not go where liquor is served; we
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must not have it in our homes; we must shun friends
who drink; we must avoid moving pictures which show
drinking scenes; we must not go into bars; our friends
must hide their bottles if we go to their houses; we
mustn't think or be reminded about alcohol at all. Our
experience shows that this is not necessarily so.
We meet these conditions every day. An alcoholic
who cannot meet them, still has an alcoholic mind; there
is something the matter with his spiritual status. His
only chance for sobriety would be some place like the
Greenland Ice Cap, and even there an Eskimo might
turn up with a bottle of scotch and ruin everything!
Ask any woman who has sent her husband to distant
places on the theory he would escape the alcohol problem.
In our belief any scheme of combating alcoholism
which proposes to shield the sick man from temptation
is doomed to failure. If the alcoholic tries to shield
himself he may succeed for a time, but usually winds
up with a bigger explosion than ever. We have tried
these methods. These attempts to do the impossible
have always failed.
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What an Order! In the beginning fear kept me sober. At some point I had to begin living life again, which meant I would be around alcohol. The power of this recovery program and acting on God's Grace demonstrate themselves in me best on those days when I am surrounded by alcohol and want a drink, and instead remain sober .