In the movie “The Days of Wine and Roses”, there is a scene, where the character played by Jack Lemmon, goes to his wife’s father and attempts to make amends to him. The heartbroken old man refuses Lemmon’s attempts, because he feels Lemmon was responsible for her alcoholism. But Lemmon persists and finally makes the old man take part of the restitution he is trying to make. He tells the man, that he has to do this in order to stay sober himself. It is one of the clearest presentation of the ninth step I have ever seen. “I have to do this in order to stay sober.”
It reminds me of why we do these things. Why else? To stay sober ourselves.
This all reminds me of the question, what am I doing today to stay sober? Each one of us can answer that question in a variety of ways. But there has to be some positive overt action I take. There may be days where I will forget, but there can’t be too many days in between these events, or we just might start that long slide backwards.
I don’t know about you, but if I’m attending meetings regularly, I will be reminded at some point during the meeting of what I should be doing that day, which my faulty memory has failed to tell me. That’s one good reason I go. It may be the best one.
An AA friend of mine, who had just seen the movie mentioned above, and I were discussing this film and decided that its realistic portrayal of alcoholics in the grips of their disease and the recovery of one is a reminder of what it used to be like and what I dare not forget. This person pointed out how the sponsor of the Lemmon character said that alcohol used to be our God. It was for me. It owned me totally, body and soul. I need to remember always that I have to do this to stay sober.
Just a thought running through my mind today.
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