TOPIC: What Do The Recovery Slogans Mean To You? Hi Im Sharon and Im an Alcoholic. By the Grace of my HP and people like you here in SR I havent had a drink of Alcohol since 8-11-90. For that I am truely grateful. There are many slogans in our fellowship that might appear trite to the uninitiated. " Easy Does It." "First Things First." "Live And Let Live." "One Day At A Time." "Keep It simple." These slogans were developed from the experiences of many others, and are any- thing but trite. Next time we hear them, let's consider if they're working in our lives. It may be the difference between a good program or just staying off the drugs and alcohol. Do I/you appreciate the full meaning in our slogans? HP, let me be able to hear the things others have done, so they may be able to aid me today. Thank you for letting me share. |
As far as slogans go "one day at a time" is pretty straight forward in a alcoholic mind, everyday is a struggle and every sober morning wakeing up is a victory, we cant look to next week or next month we have to look to the end of the day, minute, hour were in, personally if i ever look to next week i think that would be when a relapse would occur. When i hear a slogan like "one day at a time" or even read "serenity" I smile to myself and think "thats me, thats my goal"! |
AAsharon. This is 11 months and 1 day for me today of being sober. I spent a long time as an outpatient at a local hospital, however I have not gone to AA because I was somewhat turned off from that experience. I want to say though, those slogans which you have added are very helpful. When i think about the future i get very worried, very afraid, and can't face anything. " One day at a time" is all we really have, because the future is unknowable, and it's the inches that make a difference. Avoidance seems to be one of the personailty traits very deeply ingrained in alcoholics, and liquor might as well be labeled " Procrastination Sauce"--at least for me. Doing the little thing towards progress a day at time has been moving a lot of mole hills, that didn't get moved otherwise. Forget the mountains. First things first is also good, because losing priorities and making unimportant things paramount also makes doing things in life impossible. Keeping your head straight means seeing what's important. " Take it easy" is also great. Flipping out is always bad. The single biggest mistake I have made and have seen other people make is acting dramaticaly and decisively on incomplete information or wrong communications. Some things really do go better just by waiting them out. |
"FIRST THINGS FIRST" One of the mottoes of A.A., is "First Things First." This means that we should always keep in mind that alcohol is our number one problem. We must never let any other problem, whether of family, business, friends, or anything else take precedence in our minds over our alcohol problem. As we go along in A.A., we learn to recog- nize the things that may upset us emotion- ally. When we find ourselves getting upset over something, we must realize that it's a luxury we alcoholics can't afford. Any- thing that makes us forget our number one problem is dangerous to us. Am I keeping sobriety in first place in my mind? |
I have seen them arranged in this way: LIVE and let live. EASY does it. BUT for the grace of God. THINK FIRST things first. |
"LIVE AND LET LIVE" This, of course, means tolerance of people who think differently than we do, whether they are A.A. or outside of A.A.. We cannot afford the luxury of being intolerant or critical of other people. We do not try to impose our wills on those who differ from us. We are not "holier than thou." We do not have all the answers. We are not better than other good people. We live the best we can and we allow others to do likewise. Am I willing to live and let live? |
My favourite is "Give Time Time" I'm 51 and have just discovered my mother lived in a seige mentality that influenced us greatly. Just the additional feeling of freedom ahead of me that I feel this afternoon on gaining this insight ... raaaaather goooood ... |
Originally Posted by Stormtooth Avoidance seems to be one of the personailty traits very deeply ingrained in alcoholics, and liquor might as well be labeled " Procrastination Sauce"--at least for me. |
Sharon I myself am not an AA'er and I as you do I think everyone has the right to their own path to getting clean. I think you are a shining example of how AA can work for people, I love your posts and your attitude towards others and to recovery. I would like to thank you for everyone you help here, myself included, with your fresh approach and also your sense of fun, it's people like you that make SR a success and I have gained so much through your threads and posting. indigo |
:e070: aw shucks.... cut that out...lol :Wshade This little southern belle sends u thanks and says You are much appreciated. :grinattk: All of us here are helping each other... I myself couldnt do it all by myself...I need all of u too. Lots of love and care... |
Yeah, thanks Sharon, you're an asset! Which reminds me of one of my favourites - Keep doing what you're doing and you'll keep getting what you're getting |
Thanks Paul for ur kind message. You too are much appreciated. : ) Another of the mottoes in recovery is "Easy Does It." This means that we just go along in A.A./N.A. doing the best we can and not get- ting steamed up over problems that arise in A.A./N.A. or outside of it. We alcoholics/addicts are emotional people and we have gone to ex- cess in almost everything we have done. We have not been moderate in many things. We have not known how to relax. Faith in a Higher Power can help us to learn to take it easy. We are not running the world. I am only one among many. We are resolved to live normal, regular lives. From our A.A./N.A. experiences we learn that "easy does it." Have you learn to take it easy? |
Another of the mottoes of A.A. is "But for the Grace of God." Once we have fully ac- cepted the program we become humble about our achievements. We do not take too much credit for our sobriety. When we see another suffering alcoholic in the throes of alcoholism, we say to ourselves: "But for the grace of God, there goes I." We do not forget the kind of people we were. We remember those we left behind us. And we are very grateful to the grace of God which has given us another chance. Am I truely grateful for the grace of God? |
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