When I came here, I thought I knew everything. Of course I was full of advice. Just ask me. Or don’t and I would give it anyway. I was full of “wisdom”, I thought. I was full of something all right, but it certainly wasn’t wisdom. My sponsor and a lot of those old timers were more than willing to tell me what I was full of.
The reason I was thinking about this is that a woman showed up, who was almost hysterical with her emotions flowing all over the place. She said she was thinking about a drink and couldn’t stop thinking about her problems. Some responded to her with counsel and advice. Sounded like the stuff with which I was full of way back when.
Let’s see. Counsel and advice. No, that’s not what I was taught in here. I was told I wasn’t a doctor, or philosopher, a psychiatrist, or psychologist. I was just a drunk, who had too much to drink and needed help. Oh, that’s right, I came here looking for a way to stop drinking and get sober. And guess what? I was given the solution.
Stop talking about the problem and listen to the solution. And the solution began with coming to believe a power greater than myself could restore me to sanity. So, we started with what someone next to me said. “Why don’t we talk about the solution?”
So we did. We went to the Second Step and the need to practice all of these Steps in our lives. They’ll not only keep us sober, but bring about a spiritual solution to what troubles us. Maybe not instantly, but in God’s time.
To me the woman’s problem was not what she said it was. The problem was that she wanted to drink. The solution to that was obvious. It’s the same solution for all of us. It’s found in attending meetings. It’s found in the BB. It comes to us from old timers. We’re told that God could and would, if he was sought. That’s what worked for me. It got me sober and keeps me sober. So to all of us, who want to stay sober. Plus, it has taken care of all my problems a day at a time. The answer is sobriety.