At the meeting today an alcoholic brought up the fact that they were going away for a period of time and they were going to a place they weren’t familiar with and where there were would be far away from populated areas and few people. They felt that there would be no meetings and no support.
That made me go back and think about the people I knew, who in one way or another found themselves in similar situations. Also things I had read about isolated recovering alcoholics. All of whom stayed sober.
But it also brought up the thought of our Higher Power. I knew a number of people, who, when alone or under duress, found the God of their understanding. They hadn’t had one before.
One of these was a man, whose Higher Power was the group. He was at a seaside resort on the Atlantic. He had gone in swimming and was swept out to sea. He could no longer see land and had no idea where he was and which direction to take to get back to land. He said he suddenly realized that the group was not there to help him. That’s when he said he began to pray to a God he didn’t understand. He just reached out and asked for help. Then he began to swim and after a long time, exhausted, he looked up and saw the beach he had been swept away from. He had found a God of his understanding.
I knew another man, who was in the program and had no belief. He was at nearby prison, doing service work. While there a riot broke out and he found himself trapped under a table in the dining area. Like the man at sea he reached out and prayed. He found a Higher Power to believe in and was rescued by the State Police. Like the man above, he too stayed sober with the help and grace most of us have.
The person going away will have their Higher Power to help them stay sober. Or, if they don’t have one, they may find one, as others have.
I also know someone in Africa, who has been working there for many years. Up to recently they always found contacts and meetings. Not long ago they were sent to another country and found themselves alone in the terms of contacts and meetings. And then one day they found someone, who was seeking sobriety. I understand that now they meet with this person and read the BB and are staying sober.
I can think of a lot of situations similar. Recovering alcoholics isolated and apart from any contacts with AA. I knew a man, who wrote letters to loners all over the world and received and answers and continued to write to them. Bill tells us of members, who were drafted in World War II, who had stayed sober, despite wherever they were sent or what they went through.
Again it’s dependent on our faith and trust in our Higher Power. We talked about the Second Step today and how we were introduced the concept of a Higher Power and how that changed our lives. The beginning of hope, leading eventually to a faith and trust. The spiritual way of life. As long as it made sense to each one of us.
No matter where we go, if we have acquired a foundation in this program, we can and should continue to practice this program in all of our affairs. To continue to live this spiritual way of life. I know I’ve been in situations where I was isolated from the community of this program. And yet I often found a way to get in touch with others in recovery. I continued to pray and practice these Steps to the best of my ability.
Then there’s always the BB and the 12&12 and other literature we can take wherever we go. Like the person in Africa. And an old timer I knew, who back at the end of WW II, who on an isolated base in northern Greenland, somehow got hold of a BB and got sober all alone. And he stayed sober.
Anyway, after hearing this person today and their situation, I found myself thinking about all of this and a lot more. I could go on with those I have known over the years, who all have their stories about similar situations and stayed sober.
Just thinking about sobriety.