Thinking sobriety and sober thinking are not mutually exclusive, but aren’t necessarily the same thing. I got several examples of that today and that started me thinking.
For instance, two men talked about the moods they woke up with this morning. One, who is about a year sober, was in agreement with a man, who had over 40 years. Their thinking had presented a thought of a drink to both of them. They both addressed their problem of how to think sobriety. Thinking the drink through and not taking the drink. To me that’s thinking sobriety. Putting their sobriety first.
As a result, both of them came to a meeting and got back to sober thinking. And to me that’s living sober a day at a time. That’s putting our primary purpose first and dealing with the rest of the day in a sober manner. Sober thinking is our best protection against a “slip”. It’s what puts the steps into action in our lives and is the result of taking action. It’s our spiritual condition which is the result of living this way ever day.
The BB tells us that there may come a time in our lives, when we may not have a mental defense against that first drink. That doesn’t mean that it will happen, but it can happen, if we get complacent and rest on our laurels. In other words, we begin to think we are in charge and not our higher power.
That happened to me once. I still can remember that moment and it was one of the scariest times in my sobriety. I wasn’t thinking about a drink, when it happened, but I now know that I didn’t have the necessary sober thinking. I had relaxed and let my guard down. I was suddenly seized with the thought and desire to take a drink. Fortunately someone was standing by my side, who knocked me back into thinking sobriety. Pray and don’t take that drink.
I could be wrong about my analysis, but I couldn’t help but think about this today. I love this way of life and want to keep it and know that it’s dependent on my actions: the steps and keeping the faith with my higher power and relying on this rather than defying it. That’s sober thinking.