Volume 10 - Issue 1, February 15, 2008 - Lake Chapala Review

Page 20 Lake Chapala Review
February 2008
Sanity and Alcoholism
by Anonymous
At a recent local AA meeting, someone defined
“sanity” as the unconscious becoming conscious. In my
case, the words are precise. Alcoholics Anonymous helped
me to regain my sanity, and thus to enjoy the fruits of a
loving and generous life.
There’s a reason we drink too much. And if you
think you drink too much, you probably do. There’s a
reason we unconsciously work at hurting ourselves.
Discovering that is a truly-marvellous adventure; dealing
with that can be an emotional challenge. God, personal
or otherwise, and AA’s dedicated fellowship are there to
help, every step of the way—quite literally, to discover
and deal with the monsters of yesterday.
We’ve all been there. There’s nothing you can
admit that hasn’t already been admitted. Your deepdark
secrets have all been heard before, either privately
or in the rooms of AA. There’s nothing you’ve done, or
that’s been done to you, that someone in AA hasn’t heard
or experienced. In other words, we were all, in some
form, liars, cheaters and thieves. I was good in all three
categories; I had a half-a-lifetime of practice.
Paraphrased from our Big Book, we often live our
lives in fear—fear of not getting something we want,
or fear of losing something we already have. Until we
take the time and substantial effort to look, we have no
consciousness of how fear has permeated our existence.
To be able to identify it is rewarding; to see it is freedomgranting;
to deal with it, every day, in every moment…
that’s sanity.
June Calwood, author and Canadian-extraordinaire,
82 years, in her last interview, remarked: “You spend
your entire adult lifetime dealing with the events of your
youth.” It’s a beautiful interview; find it at www.cbc.ca/
thehour.
Hi, my name is ____, and I’m an alcoholic. I
don’t drink anymore. I haven’t for 7 years, this month. I
admitted to a guy that I might have a drinking problem.
We immediately drove to the bookstore, and he bought
me a book—The Courage to Change. “Change? I don’t
want to change; I just want to quit drinking.” His attempt
at launching me into the AA program failed. Soon, I was
drinking again. It was 5 years until I tried AA again.
I am grateful now, everyday, that I’m an alcoholic,
because in the end, it is all about changing to a whole
new way of seeing the world, and interacting with it—
to become free. AA frees you from the booze, but more
importantly, it frees your soul.
Today, I am honestly grateful for everything,
whether I have a little or a lot, of whatever it is. If I’m
grateful, I become humble enough to enjoy the here-andnow.
If I’m grateful, I don’t need to wear the mask of
false-pride. It all starts so simply—being grateful to AA
and your higher-power for allowing you to choose to not
have a drink, just for today, and sometimes, just for this
hour.
My friend was right about change. I went to AA
to stop drinking. AA also taught me how to live. Once I
understood my life, I wanted to change. I could see there
was something much better. I wanted what they had.
Hi, my name is ____, and I’m a grateful alcoholic.
And it’s only going to keep getting better, every day,
for the other half of my life. With the help of Alcoholics
Anonymous, I can count on that.