Rev

Virtually every alcoholic or addict I've met is a person of sensitivity, and often higher than average intelligence. I sometimes wonder if alcoholism wasn't invented by God to see if such people can handle Truth. You have to be very honest with yourself, humblingly honest, in order to live with this disease. And those who do, live very enriched and wise lives. It seems like a crucible, almost, to have this problem. Far from being a burden others aren't cursed with, maybe alcoholism carries us forward in our humanity.

Just a thought.

Rev

43395

Given the description in the BB,'many are often friendly, capable, intelligentpeople' and the fact that I identify with the late Carl Rogers, an eminent psychologist who developed the,'humanist' approach to psychology and who identified the fully functioning person' as an individual who has known great triumph and despair in their lifes, which have been full of ,'experiential learning ' so that they have lead a,'rich' full life and yet remain open to new experiences I think there is an element of truth, something I'm always seeking in what you say.
As an aside I have a great interest in Buddhist principles, everyone connected with Buddhism would accept that the true nature of it is born out of experiental learning it is only thus that you can not only find but accept the truth of Shakyamuni's original teachings, in fact he recommends it, what I call in my thread,see,'Where are you now', the,'Anvil of Experience'. Mike W.

HideorSeek

Well, Rev, I agree with you about alcoholics. Whether it's a cosmic comeuppance or not, I guess depends on whether you think God has a strange sense of irony. I do know that I have been blessed in so many areas of my life, that if my alcoholism is the only challenge I have to face, I'm still fortunate.

Like others, I have gone through periods of "why me"? But then, I actually came to the point where I am grateful for my alcoholism. Not, certainly, for the harm I have done, but because I am becoming a far more authentic person. I have a growing sense of humility and a diminishing sense of my own importance. I have a growing appreciation for honesty and a decreased tolerance for self-deception. I have a new found wonder for all that I have and a decreased resentment for all that I don't. I have a better understanding of all I can be and an increased intolerance for my old excuses. I have a new code of personal integrity and am finally willing to take responsibility for myself. And I have an increased conviction in Divinity and a diminished sense of existential isolation.

Had I never battled alcoholism, would I be a better person? Doubtful. I would just have been a sober, but oblivious, self-absorbed, deluded, unappreciative, manipulative people-pleasing, ethically lazy, egocentric.

I have a long way to go, but I like where I'm headed and I wouldn't be here had I not been there.

So, I like to look at it as if God has given me another gift.

Toronto68

I agree with the sensitivity, and I know it has always baffled me why "smart people do dumb things." (I even borrowed a book of that title once, but it didn't get me what I was looking for, ha ha.) The relatively universal understanding about alcoholism among addicts is something that makes me happy. So maybe the alcoholism (not the act of drinking, but the knowledge of it, going through it, looking upon it) is something that takes me to a better plane of existence. I remember around the time I started to actualize the alcoholism, I somehow thought I had become a better person, but I still don't know what I was talking about back then. I suspect it was the illusion via alcohol that my emotions were manageable. Although I have spotted a lot of people that seem to be really intelligent, I just chalk that up to the "great equalizer" thing.

Boleo

Cru·ci·ble (Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary)

1. A vessel made of a refractory substance such as graphite or porcelain, used for melting and calcining materials at high temperatures.
2. A severe test, as of patience or belief; a trial. See Synonyms - trial.

I have come to believe that my Alcoholism is a purging process much like "burning" the impurities out of gold using a crucible. Or the bodies attempt to kill off a virus using a high-temperature fever.

For those of us who survive, there is some truth to the old cleché

"That which does not kill you makes you stronger"

That which does not kill you by Robert James Leonard| Lulu Poetry

CarolD

Hmmm...
I slid into alcoholism because I was living in my free will
living on the edge....ego driven. ..hedonistic
Alcohol allowed me to put away my ethics
my simple belief in God.

Recovery came thru God's forgivness and love.
By accepting this precious gift....I can serve others
with purpose and joy....

As y'all might know by now.....no deep thinker am I

battypatty

Carol: Simplicity is the true wisdom. Less is more (my personal mantra).

SoberKarl

I'm not so sure... I think its more like we are just losers who need something to cope... We are not strong willed enough to take action on the reality we all know. Most ex-alcoholics needs some type of crutch.... AA, food or the sounds of twing twang music and live with a stigma all their lives.

It just another human weakness that we need to overcome.

Lenina

SoberKarl,

I don't think alcoholics are weak-willed. Most of us are pretty darn stubborn, if you look at the lengths many of went through to keep drinking. I don't think most people can get sober through will-power alone. I had to have a change in philosophy to get into recovery and be happy about it.

Love,

Lenina

unholy_mess

Interestingly, several studies have found correlations (which, do NOT equal causation, I know - but the link is there) between high childhood intelligence (I think the measure was IQ in most of the studies) and alcoholism as an adult. It's certainly an interesting theory and I, for one, (I'm not trying to be all look at me I'm smart, but I've been told...) have always been one that has been considered as having above average intelligence.

artsoul

Hmmm..... I've wondered about this myself, Rev. Perhaps as humanity evolves, our trials are more mental/emotional/spiritual. Rather than focusing on survival, we begin to question the world around us, and then finally, our inner selves. Maybe it is a tool for that purpose, I don't know. I 've also read (in a spiritual book) that those who chose to alter their state of mind are really spiritual seekers. Thought that was interesting, too.

Dee74

I dunno - I feel blessed by my recovery and where it's led me, but I don't feel especially blessed by my alcoholism....but I'm definitely not a loser either.

I look at it like my cerebral palsy - I've known people with CP who are amazing human beings...and I've known others who are real jerks.

It's all about what we do with what we've been dealt, I think

D

joinedintime

Can alcoholism be a gift?
Yes
Is it always to everyone that has it?
No.
Like anything that life presents us, one of the major factors as to if it's a gift or a curse is determined by our reaction to it.
If your alcoholism has brought you to take the opportunity to examine and improve your life, it's a gift.
If you wallow in self pity and also jealousy towards those that can drink without excess than it's not much of gift, is it?

Also, I'm no so sure I buy into the higher than average intelligence and sensitivity concept. I'm not dismissing it out of hand but consider this;
Think about how many lower than average alcoholics you've met in your life. Perhaps that ratio changes when you look at recovering alcoholics rather than currently drinking alcoholics.
Then also, perhaps that higher sensitivity allows for the acknowledgment of the problem and perhaps the higher than average intelligence allows for knowing that following the drunk path will end in no good. Perhaps the lower than average intelligence alcoholic population doesn't live as long because of who they are and thus as we age we're left with the a different intelligence ratio in our peer group. I don't know. To do a scientific study that allows for consideration of all the variables would be complex to say the least.

Here's what I do know. I consider myself to have received a great gift called sobriety and I consider myself happy that I have whatever level of intelligence that is required to recognize it as a gift.