Recently, I celebrated another birthday. It brought to mind the age old question of how does one become an old drunk? For an alcoholic there is only one answer. It is don’t drink and don’t die! To do this, it follows that the way to do this is to follow the SUGGESTIONS that are in the Big Book and talked about in meetings.
When I first began practicing the AA Program, I immediately saw many who had been as deep into the agonies of practicing alcoholism as I. And now they were feeling happy. Joyous. Free. This brings us right back to basics that we hear from day 1 in the program. Don’t drink and go to meetings. I also used to hear added to this “Get a sponsor.” Why was this added? Because it gave the hesitant newcomer someone he or she felt comfortable with to ask questions that they were not ready to ask in front of others. Many of the people who I saw go back out never made it back. Many of them died showing “I can still drink!” They never made it to be an old anything, let alone an old drunk.
We are attending meetings and seeing that a better way of life can become a reality in our lives. Then we started out by acknowledging that we were in a mess and alcohol was a problem. We then saw that there was a power “out there” that was bigger than ourselves. This is obvious when we see the sun rise and set at exact times for millenia. Trees sprout green in the spring, and leaves turn colors in the fall on a regular schedule. We breathe without thinking about it. We have a heartbeat without ever thinking about it. And on and on.
The 3rd Step says “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood him.” When I was new to the program and going through a “white knuckle” experience, I could not not remember the Serenity Prayer, the 3rd Step prayer was too long and I had no one that could be called on for help. I was strongly advised by my sponsors that if I really wanted to tap into the source of this amazing Power, to use their shortened version of the 3rd Step, simply saying “God help me!”
At 81, I am truly an old drunk. Just one that does not drink any more. If you didn’t drink or drug today, you now have choices. Do you choose to be miserable or do you choose to be Happy, Joyous, and Free? The choice is yours and nobody else’s. Choose wisely! God bless you!
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