Today was a great day for me and some of my friends in here. It was a “chip day”. Anniversaries for one thing. Lot of good spirit and remarks. After the meeting an old friend and I spent a lot of time talking to another alcoholic. Interesting. Sharing our stories. His reactions were helpful to both of us, who have been around a while.
However there was another interesting phase today. Two of our members passed away this week. A number of us were close to them. Both had been here quite a while. A shock at first, but then it turned out for me and some others as a blessing. I mean it meant the cure of our disease for both.
That struck us as something we all talk about from time to time. How this is a lifetime disease. There’s no cure. That is until we pass on to the other side of life. Then we’re free from what had held us slaves to it. Alcohol. The disease of alcoholism.
Many of us have been placed in a position of neutrality as far as the need of alcohol, when we surrendered to this disease. Physically we were free from the demands of alcohol. However we were still left with the rest of this disease. Mentally and emotionally we were still tied into the rest of this disease. Like the BB points out to us, we’re imperfect. Not saints. And it takes trying to live a spiritual way of life to help us to remain sober.
That’s where the Second Step comes into our lives, we hope. Opening the door to living a spiritual way of life is what I believe, as the BB states, what has changed my life and allowed me to live free of alcohol and stay sober. Otherwise I believe what the BB said. That not to live this way of life opens the door to dying from this disease.
So I looked at these two men, alcoholics like myself, as being blessed in that they lived a good way of life in here. A sober spiritual way of life. Not perfect, but striving for a spiritual way of life, like the rest of us. Now, as we agreed, they are at peace with their Higher Power, finally cured of the disease which holds us.
And like us, their example was always present a day at a time. I know that we all were grateful for having known them and being associated with them through the years in here. I know I was impressed with their presence, as were others. Now it’s time for each of us to let go to the God of our understanding. My thoughts and those of others.
Like many in here, we all expressed our thoughts and our gratitude. I need examples of alcoholics like them to encourage me and others. To continue to practice these Steps and the spiritual way of life a day at a time. And to do what my friend and I did after the meeting. To practice freely giving away what we were so freely given to another alcoholic like ourselves. Talk about gratitude. Thanks.