An old friend was “coming back” today. Someone I’ve known for a few years now. I don’t know what happened, except that they drank again. Not in great shape. All I could think of telling them that it’s pain that got most of us sober. Maybe they’ve had enough pain and that’s why they came to the meeting today.
But a couple of men said something so true that it caught my attention. One of them told how he had recently been tempted to go back out, but, in talking to others, he had got to the other side and been able to get back on track again. It was those words, he got to the other side that rang a bell. How often by attending meetings regularly that I am able to do just that; get to the other side. Going right past what was bothering me, I got to the other side.
Another man, who spoke to this person coming back, told her what that other side was. He talked about the maintenance of our spiritual condition. It’s always that, which takes the alcoholic out of sobriety and puts them back in the bottle. Failure to maintain that spiritual condition.
That certainly got me to thinking about what it is that keeps us sober. The 11th Step. Attempting to improve my conscious contact with God, as I understand him. Taking the time to pray and meditate. And that’s what I tried to do after those words.
That’s exactly why I go to meetings. To be reminded of what it is that I need to do today. To be reminded of what I tend to forget. Sounds simple enough to be in the program a long time to remember what it is we’re supposed to do daily. But I know from experience that I don’t. I need someone to tell me. And when I miss meetings, it all goes away in such a short time. I would guess that’s exactly what happened to my friend. They had been missing meetings for a while. They weren’t there to be reminded.
There was another man in the room, who was celebrating his 40th year today. When he spoke, you could tell that he was glad what happened to my friend hadn’t happened to him. He was grateful for what AA had done for his life. Not just from freedom from alcohol, but the transformation which happened as a result and how it had affected his whole life as a result of practicing this program. I know exactly how he felt and was grateful for what the program has done for me. Not in a feeling of superiority over my friend, but just the realization that this program was the best thing which had ever happened to me.
I also was reminded of just how powerless I am over alcohol. It told me that I’m still an alcoholic and once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. May I never forget this truth about myself.