nandm

A thought for today, taken from As Bill Sees It, the AA Way of Life (selected writings of AA's co-founder

Quote:

I saw that I had been living too much alone, too much aloof, from my fellows, and too deaf to that voice within. Instead of seeing myself as a simple agent bearng the message of experience, I had thought of myself as a founder of A.A.

How much better it would have been had I felt gratitude rather than self-satisfaction--gratitude that I had once suffered that pains of alcoholism, gratitude that a miracle of recovery had been worked upon me from above, gratitude for the privilege of serving my fellow alcoholics, and gratitude for those fraternal ties which bound me ever closer to them in a comradeship such as few societies of men have ever known.

Truly did a clergyman say to me, "Your misfortune has become your good fortune. You A.A.'s are a privileged people."

miss communicat

I am careful not to embrace the notion that I am a member of a priveleged group because my ego takes me right from there into exclusivity rather than into unity consciuosness.

I prefer Bill W's comment that we are all miracles of mental health, for an alcoholic to become sober is truly a miracle.

Recently, at a meeting, the topic of "us" being part of a priveleged group led everybody to speak the language of everyone else as "outsiders", whining that "they" do not understand "us" and I don't feel so inclined.

Astro

Thanks, nandm. A great reminder that I have a life beyond my wildest dreams and expectations. I'm living the dream!

nandm

You make some very good points.

I do think that ego can become a problem if one concentrates on the privileged part of the quote. For me I prefer to concentrate on the gratitude part.

I totally agree that we are all miracles. The odds are definately against us getting and staying sober. Fortunately we increase our chances by working the program of AA to the best of our ability, being open minded, and teachable.

I choose not to look around me at the "normal" drinkers in my life and dwell on the fact that in many ways they do not understand alcoholism. I appreciate them for trying to understand and being respectful of the disease. I see them as fortunate that they do not understand some aspects of the disease. There are areas of the disease I would like to not know about myself or accept but have to if I want to stay sober. I do not treat my alcoholism any different than I would diabetes. It is a medical condition that I have that requires ongoing treatment to manage. I do not see my friends as viewing it any different.

So I guess yes, I see myself as privileged to have found a solution to my alcoholism. I am privileged that I have a program which helps me to learn to deal with every day life events that used to baffle me. In some ways I think the tools of alcoholics anonymous would be useful to a lot of people not just alcoholics; because they encourage the person to keep the ego in check, clean their side of the street, and work on improving the quality of person that they are. For me I would rather see my disease as a privilege than a burden. Privilege brings with it a responsibility. I am responsible for how I present myself as I am a living example of A.A. at work. My actions can damage someone's view of the program. This is part of the responsibility of the program to me. For me the privilege is countered with gratitude and the realization that I am only a step away from my next drink. This helps to keep my ego in check and keeps me working this program.

Thank you for your input. I appriate anything that challenges me to think deeper about a subject.

GrouchoTheCat

I really believe that everyone who finds AA has been blessed.

For this I am deeply grateful.

miss communicat

yes. I too, get the gratitude behind the comment you quoted, and I do feel truly gifted with recovery, one day at a time.

CarolD

I often wonder why some strive to be normal.

I perfer to be an AA miracle!!
:wow:

barb dwyer

I do not think for a moment that I was 'chosen' for anything at all.

But I know without a doubt ... that I was spared.

Tazman53

Blessed? Yes! Privileged? No! JMHO

We surrendered and as a result were blessed by our HP.

We IMHO are not privileged, if we were privileged we would have taken no action at all and would have been given our sobriety with out any action on our parts.

Our actions led to us being blessed, we are not chosen to be blessed.

Take note that Bill W. did say he was "privileged" to serve, this was due to his actions and the blessings that followed. I consider it a privilege to serve, I serve to give away freely what was given to me freely due to my actions, resulting in blessings. Bill nor I felt/feel that we are privileged to be sober, sobriety is the result of blessings our HP has given us due to our actions and the willingness to continue actions that our HP gives us the opportunity to do.