Single mindedness has never been one of my strong suits. In fact my mind is one, which jumps all over the place. Makes me laugh to think of what my friend says is his favorite exercise; jumping to conclusions.
Anyway, I was thinking about something I was reminded of, when I opened to the 5th Tradition today. Better to do one thing supremely well than many badly. Think of that. One thing. Stick to it and do it well. And the one thing the 5th is talking about is making alcohol the primary purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous. In other words, other things are not what we need to get into.
But, as important as that is, I was thinking that the one thing I have to do supremely well is to stay sober. I get a chance to do that every day. Right now I’m focused on that. Each day I have the opportunity to begin my day with that thought. And everything I do today should be geared to that.
I remember so well the old timer Gil, who read from the Jan. 6 page of the 24 Hour a Day book, back when I came to my first meeting. In essence it said that my decision to stop drinking was the most important decision I had ever made. Could I ever afford to forget that? The answer for me was no! I couldn’t and I still can’t.
Despite the fact that I have been relieved of obsessing on a drink of alcohol, I know that I’m not cured of my alcoholism. It’s still down there hidden deep within me. That next drink. We’re told that alcohol is cunning, baffling, and powerful. There’s always something, which I am not aware of, which might tip the scales and get me back to a drink. I know that from my experience of seeing so many others, whom I thought were solid sober people, who went back out. I don’t want that to be me. But I am aware that it’s possible. Time in this program didn’t seem to matter.
Bill, in the BB, gives us a warning. He said, eternal vigilance is the price of sobriety. That one thing for me to do well is to stay sober. If I can remember that today, that’s the one thing I can do well. It means to me that my job is to somehow practice these spiritual principles in my life today. To take the action necessary to do that.
Anyway, after reading those words, this is what I was reminded to do. To once again think of my sobriety and pick up the tools to do that.