One alkie helping another!
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Gulf Coast, Florida USA
Posts: 5,731
One alkie helping another!
Excerpts
Reprinted with Permission of AA World Services, inc
Chapter Seven in the AA Big book is titled Working With Others. The first line reads, “Practical Experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics.”........
This sentence is pretty clear. “NOTHING WILL SO MUCH INSURE IMMUNITY FROM DRINKING as intensive work with other alcoholics.” The book states clearly that intensive work with other alcoholics is the most powerful tool to staying sober.......
WOW........
That's why AA works, that why SR works..
I will not go over word for word of the chapter in The Big Book, as that could take awhile, But I think it is important to share why this is such an important chapter to me..........
I wish I could say I Am sober a real long time, I am not, but I find when I encourage another alkie that I get out of myself and the last thing I want is to drink
The gifts of working with others (for me) have been innumerable. What I have gained from being of service in the Twelve-Step program would have been unimaginable to me while I was still drinking .
I love seeing a someone growing in AA , in here and having little revelations, I learn from them. I get outside of my own head.
I am given the opportunity to learn compassion and selflessness from you all. .
Working with others also helps me continue my growth, All of you help me , with some of you I am reminded daily of where I once was not so long ago .
With some of you I am given great hope of a great life to be found.
I am a true believer that our lives were spared so we could carry the message of recovery .
Not everyone is going to grasp this way of life. It's unfortunate.
Some of us may not have been sober that long but I believe if you even have one day sober, you can share with someone else how you did it.
There is absolutley nothing wrong with encouraging others and giving them hope .
We may not have the answers . We may feel helpless or at a loss for words for others suffering alcoholic/addict torture.But we can encourage them, we can listen to them and sometimes that is all we can do , and that is what I try to do .
I really try to rely on my God for the right words .I can't do any of this without him anyways.I ask him to give me the right words to say .
I am so blessed to have found a solution to recovery and I feel the need to pass it on to the next hopeless person who comes through the doors of AA/SR .
Even if you are new there are rewards in reaching out and encouraging another alkie. Asking them about there day. It takes us out of self obsession and makes us feel better about ourselves .
It is just a good thing to do. I don't have to fix anyone today but I can encourage them and share what experience I do have. My first meeting was in 1981 and I have been in and around the program ever since with a few yrs here and there .
If what I share is even to tell them something that didn't work maybe it just may help them.
So reach out, you'll be glad you did. You don't have to be an AA scholar to be compassionate and make another alkie feel loved
You all help me so much and I am so grateful for this forum. It is surreal the love that flows here. Happy Easter everyone! God Bless!
Reprinted with Permission of AA World Services, inc
Chapter Seven in the AA Big book is titled Working With Others. The first line reads, “Practical Experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics.”........
This sentence is pretty clear. “NOTHING WILL SO MUCH INSURE IMMUNITY FROM DRINKING as intensive work with other alcoholics.” The book states clearly that intensive work with other alcoholics is the most powerful tool to staying sober.......
WOW........
That's why AA works, that why SR works..
I will not go over word for word of the chapter in The Big Book, as that could take awhile, But I think it is important to share why this is such an important chapter to me..........
I wish I could say I Am sober a real long time, I am not, but I find when I encourage another alkie that I get out of myself and the last thing I want is to drink
The gifts of working with others (for me) have been innumerable. What I have gained from being of service in the Twelve-Step program would have been unimaginable to me while I was still drinking .
I love seeing a someone growing in AA , in here and having little revelations, I learn from them. I get outside of my own head.
I am given the opportunity to learn compassion and selflessness from you all. .
Working with others also helps me continue my growth, All of you help me , with some of you I am reminded daily of where I once was not so long ago .
With some of you I am given great hope of a great life to be found.
I am a true believer that our lives were spared so we could carry the message of recovery .
Not everyone is going to grasp this way of life. It's unfortunate.
Some of us may not have been sober that long but I believe if you even have one day sober, you can share with someone else how you did it.
There is absolutley nothing wrong with encouraging others and giving them hope .
We may not have the answers . We may feel helpless or at a loss for words for others suffering alcoholic/addict torture.But we can encourage them, we can listen to them and sometimes that is all we can do , and that is what I try to do .
I really try to rely on my God for the right words .I can't do any of this without him anyways.I ask him to give me the right words to say .
I am so blessed to have found a solution to recovery and I feel the need to pass it on to the next hopeless person who comes through the doors of AA/SR .
Even if you are new there are rewards in reaching out and encouraging another alkie. Asking them about there day. It takes us out of self obsession and makes us feel better about ourselves .
It is just a good thing to do. I don't have to fix anyone today but I can encourage them and share what experience I do have. My first meeting was in 1981 and I have been in and around the program ever since with a few yrs here and there .
If what I share is even to tell them something that didn't work maybe it just may help them.
So reach out, you'll be glad you did. You don't have to be an AA scholar to be compassionate and make another alkie feel loved
You all help me so much and I am so grateful for this forum. It is surreal the love that flows here. Happy Easter everyone! God Bless!
Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SoCal, California
Posts: 990
I didn't really know how this worked until it happened to me.
I'm on three weeks sober now and it feels great.
For me the big change happened while posting on this forum. At the time I had a big 2 days sober. Someone on the board was wavering in their resolve and commitment. I put together a comment, complete with my favorite movie clip about commitment, and was telling them how they had to commit. They had to commit in two ways simultaneously.
First the over-arching lifetime commitment. Secondly the minute-to-minute commitment.
Then it hit me like a ton of bricks - that was what I had to do. That's why I had not been able to go more than two days without drinking. It was a moment like in the original Star Trek TV series where Capt. Kirk would engage in a battle of wits with an alien computer and, of course, Kirk would win. The computer would start to spew smoke and talk gibberish. Finally the computer that had had the misfortune to match wits with Kirk would often just blow itself up or melt down. HA!
Well, that's what happened to my view of my relationship to alcohol. It just went kablooooy! That was a big turning point for me. Granted, it's only three weeks but, with daily work, it's sticking so far. And it happened because I was trying to help someone else.
How about that.
I'm on three weeks sober now and it feels great.
For me the big change happened while posting on this forum. At the time I had a big 2 days sober. Someone on the board was wavering in their resolve and commitment. I put together a comment, complete with my favorite movie clip about commitment, and was telling them how they had to commit. They had to commit in two ways simultaneously.
First the over-arching lifetime commitment. Secondly the minute-to-minute commitment.
Then it hit me like a ton of bricks - that was what I had to do. That's why I had not been able to go more than two days without drinking. It was a moment like in the original Star Trek TV series where Capt. Kirk would engage in a battle of wits with an alien computer and, of course, Kirk would win. The computer would start to spew smoke and talk gibberish. Finally the computer that had had the misfortune to match wits with Kirk would often just blow itself up or melt down. HA!
Well, that's what happened to my view of my relationship to alcohol. It just went kablooooy! That was a big turning point for me. Granted, it's only three weeks but, with daily work, it's sticking so far. And it happened because I was trying to help someone else.
How about that.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Gulf Coast, Florida USA
Posts: 5,731
Originally Posted by ClearLight 
I didn't really know how this worked until it happened to me.
Well, that's what happened to my view of my relationship to alcohol. It just went kablooooy! That was a big turning point for me. Granted, it's only three weeks but, with daily work, it's sticking so far. And it happened because I was trying to help someone else.
How about that.
Well, that's what happened to my view of my relationship to alcohol. It just went kablooooy! That was a big turning point for me. Granted, it's only three weeks but, with daily work, it's sticking so far. And it happened because I was trying to help someone else.
How about that.
Me and my bro used to play make believe Star trek when we were kids and we would make little communicator boxes out of Sucret boxes. If you are under 30 yrs old you may not know what a Sucrets box is but it's a smaller version of an Altoids container. This was before cordless phones and cell phones obviously.lol We used to pretend we were beaming up to bed at bedtime. lol Thanks for the memories.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Wales
Posts: 147
Yeah, ready other posts really helps keep my thoughts in check-am amazed how long my mind has played tricks. Being on here makes me aware of other behaviour I have had-a little OCD and manic behaviour-also I've realised I had a co-dependant relationship for 2 yrs. A bit of an awakening/shock!
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