newby1961

CONVINCING "MR. HYDE"
Even then, as we hew away, peace and joy will still elude us. That's the
place so many of us A.A. oldsters have come to. And it's a hell of a spot,
literally. How shall our unconscious -- from which so many of our fears,
compulsions and phony aspirations still stream -- be brought into line with what we actually believe, know and want! How to convince our dumb, raging and hidden "Mr. Hyde" becomes our main task.

THE BEST OF BILL, pp. 42-43

Regular attendance at meetings, serving and helping others is the recipe that many have tried and found to be successful. Whenever I stray from these basic principles, my old habits resurface and my old self also comes back with all its fears and defects. The ultimate goal of each A.A. member is permanent sobriety, achieved One Day at a Time.


Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

Fernaceman

The ultimate goal IS permanent sobriety, but I can't think of it in such finality. I really can't. I feel it defeats its purpose. I made many declarations of quitting and forming new behaviors in the past, mostly genuine at the time. I have learned thinking of this thing in a whole long term approach is very dangerous to me. I then start obsessing about how "good" my life will be in (x) years and fantasizing about how awesome it will be then. It takes away and robs me of my current state and situation. I sure hope I am seeing how important it is for me to experience these life lessons I am trudging through right now. My experience with these can and already has been benefiting another, so they hopefully don't have to make the same mistakes I did.

And that whole line "As we trudge the road OF happy destiny." I read that whole thing wrong for a long time. For some reason it appeared road TO happy destiny. I just realized this recently. I (we) are already AT happy destiny through this program, if we have completed the steps and cleaned house. It's up to us to perceive how fulfilling our road of happy destiny is.

HappyDestiny3

I couldn't be farther from being a old timer, and thats okay.. I have today..

Thats all I ever have, and I always need to remain green..

But in my short tenure, I know that when I don't do the things that worked in the beginning it's very easy for me to slip into old habits, and then its not long before I drink...