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Old 01-01-2017, 10:20 AM
  # 32 (permalink)  
Berrybean
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Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 6,902
I dunno. In my (albeit limited ) experience, when we've had people 'go back out' then we tend to hear fairly quickly that this has happened (maybe because it's a very small city) and then we're pretty sad and concerned about them. If and when they get back to the rooms then we're glad they made it back and tell them so, even if it's someone who's taking a while to learn from their relapses. Some of us are just slow learners and it can take a few attempts before we finally 'get it'.

I think the old timers in my home group would have short shrift for anyone sitting in judgement on someone who'd relapsed and then managed to find their way back. Those people can give us a valuable lesson in humility, and a stark warning of how powerful this disease can be, and just how cunning and baffling alcoholism is. For all of us, at whatever stage of our journey, it is progress, not perfection.

The strongest AA meetings, in my opinion, are those that are a refuge for the weak, not showcases for the contented.
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