DriGuy

He Wehav2. I need to offer different perspectives on "no" and "pride." Maybe we use different definitions or maybe it's different perspectives, but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

There is nothing wrong with saying no. I say "No" and do so emphatically. I say "No" to kidnapping children, murder, adultery, and a lot of other things, including alcohol. Learning to say no was an essential part of my recovery. It's not that I previously said yes to alcohol. God knows, I didn't want to drink. I knew it was destroying my life. I didn't say yes, but I couldn't say no. I just let the addiction take over and decide for me. I had to learn to say no. Let's not discount the awesome power in, "No."

And while I'm at it, I'd like to put in a good word for pride. When I finally made it over the hump and recognized I had the power to stay sober, I felt so proud of myself that I was practically busting the buttons off my shirt, and even some of those who normally dishonored pride in my AA group, admitted they took pride in their sobriety like I did. Pride is the opposite of shame and disgrace. What's so bad about that? And it doesn't mean arrogance and self glorification, unless you want to define it as a negative. Of the seven deadly sins, pride gets a bad wrap it doesn't deserve. My guess is that that perception of pride is based on an antiquated definition.

I'm just a guy, one who has made more than my share of stupid mistakes in life, so when I finally got something right, something of monumental importance in changing my life, I got a taste of pride. It's still there, although no longer of the button popping intensity. Like other aspects of converting to sobriety, pride just became part of the new "normal." And it was made possible by the power of "No."