24hrsAday

What difference does it make to you how somebody else stays sober? the fellowship/meetings are very important to me in helping keep me on the right track.. it's a keep it simple kind of thing for me. i don't UNDERSTAND God. i don't pray on my knees And i'm just not SURE about a LOT of things.. but.. i will have 8 years clean AND sober in just a little bit.. one day at a time.

tomsteve

Cool beans!!
Father Martin once said to bill w:
We will never understand God. For to fully understand and comprehend God would mean we are equal to God.

skg

All of recovery is but a path to sobriety, not the be-all-end-all, for me. The Steps (and this is a 12 Step Forum) are a means to sobriety, and the HOW of applying them in my life is applied ONLY by me. I can memorize the entire first 164, not drink for 30+ years, and be the biggest SOB in any meeting. I can also cite various passages and paragraphs, and drink every night. I can also carry the book to meetings and add to the Discussion Topic as to appear to be a brilliant drunk. I can mimic, parrot, and argue every term, but that is not sobriety the way I envision it. I am not responsible for my disease, but I am responsible for my recovery.

I personally chose to work the principles of the twelve steps and learn to apply those principles in problem-solving my relationships with the world around me. I continue to grow in that exercise every day. Along the way I've managed to find a working relationship (not a religion) with God as I understand Him. I know very little and I'm not an AA lawyer (cyphering the language to make it fit my rebuttal), and I must start the day on my knees above all things. But I stay sober and can face life on life's terms without routinely having near-death experiences. I seek out men and women in AA meetings that want the same quality of sobriety and we have other meetings that use different texts, same steps, to improve our conscious contact with God as each of us understand Him.

The latter part of that--the men and women who continue to grow--are the "WE" that I believe the text of AA refers to. Every story I've ever read in earlier versions of the text of Alcoholics Anonymous places paramount importance on spiritual growth and deep commitments to service with other alcoholics. THAT is the WE I want to be--the WE that is patient, understanding, and tolerant of the still suffering. The WE that works with others out of love, not fear; the WE that believes in Recovery, Unity, and Service; the WE that allows for people to have their own experiences without being told that they're wrong; the WE that loves the newcomer until they learn that they're not alone and the can love themselves.

Not all AA meetings engender this group consciousness--I attended one in Aiken, SC last weekend that brings that roaring to the forefront--but I stay sober because that WE can be found--even in not-so-wonderful AA meetings if I'll look for how I can contribute rather than find fault in.

There's a huge disconnect between the AA in the rooms and the AA found on the web, in my experience. Most of the WE have ceased fighting everything and everyone, including argumentive, faceless postings because there are plenty of face-to-face opportunities to help others, but I HAVE found forums useful for those who genuinely want to understand a spiritual solution. Just a bigger haystack, or so it would seem.

Anyway, thanks for the topic. I guess I had something to say about it afterall...

24hrsAday

thank you.. i agree 100%

24hrsAday

and we are NOT god..