The Alcoholic Advantage
We have an advantage. It is the Program and the Fellowship. We have a handbook with Steps to follow and friends who support us. Friends who have been rescued from the same catastrophe. We speak the same language and have a manual for solutions to life’s problems.
A couple of cases to prove the point.
I was talking with a business acquaintance who was non-AA. He complained about a recent conversation that had not gone well. He made a minor criticism, and the conversation exploded in rage. I paused, unconsciously framing the problem within Program parameters, I said, “It sounds like he was dominated by fear and lashed out; you will have to forgive him.”
My acquaintance looked at me like I was in an idiot. “Where would you get that idea? No…. he was just an asshole, and I will never deal with him again, f%&k him anyway.”
Another example: my sponsor was talking to his non-AA friend. The friend was going through a difficult time. My sponsor said, “when I get into a frame of mind like that, I have to take stock, do a personal inventory.” His friend looked at him like he had a third eye and dismissed him with a “yeah, whatever.”
We AAs find that we can deal with things that used to baffle us, and still confuse many of the Normies around us. We can deal with things that used to baffle us because we have tools, and we have spent a lot of time working on ourselves. We have to, or we die. And, we have listened to shares in the rooms and had conversations with sponsees that have taught us many do’s and don’ts of life. We have observed, with careful attentiveness, many good and bad examples of solutions.
Many of us say “we are grateful alcoholics” because we have these advantages. We are not grateful for the pain that we have suffered or inflicted; we are grateful for the lessons we have had to learn.
When crises hit, we know what to do. We have a playbook. When we feel alone, we have Program friends. When the pandemic unfolds, we know what to do to keep calm.
Our serenity was hard to come by. We have faced demons and fears. We have come to understand our dependencies. And some of us have been blessed with confidence in the universe that transcends faith. It seems so secure that it appears to us, not to be faith, but knowledge.
We can be the yeast in the dough. In these perilous times, meditate more, pray more, keep in touch more. For life is cunning, baffling, and powerful!
For a great article on 12-Step living in times of crisis:
How the Wisdom of 12-Step Programs Can Help Get Us Through April
Seven practices to help you navigate quarantine.
At first blush, it wouldn’t seem like 12-Step programs could help ordinary people through difficult times. After all, these programs are only designed to help people recover from addiction, right?
