A quote from the book Alcoholics Anonymous:
Our next function is to grow in understanding
and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter.
It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch
for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When
these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them.
We discuss them with someone immediately and make
amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we
resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help.
Love and tolerance of others is our code.
And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone--
even alcohol. For by this time sanity will have returned.We will seldom be interested in liquor. If
tempted, we recoil from it as from a hot flame.
I fought my alcoholism the last 10 years I drank, I
ALONE could not beat it! In all honesty I did not have a clue how to stay sober!
I was unable to stop drinking & STAY stopped until.......................... I surrendered!!
I quit fighting, I reached out my hand and I asked for help!!!
I asked for & got help from people who were alcoholics like me with one huge difference, they knew how to STAY sober!!!
When I asked for help they told me they had a SOLUTION for my alcoholism, when I asked what it was they said simply "If you want what we have do as we do and have done." They led the way, they gave me suggestions & shared with me how they stayed sober.
Now here is the part that is hard to fathom....... They did NOT teach me how NOT to drink........................... What they taught me was how to clean up my past relieving my guilt & shame & most importantly how to live life in such a manner that I had a SOLUTION for life!! A SOLUTION that was so good I had no reason to drink!