“We have no monopoly on God; we merely have an approach that worked for us.” That little gem is hidden in the BB. I ran across it, just before I went to sleep last night. I can get so myopic that I forget the world at large at times. It also reminds me that this also applies to so many of our loved ones, who really know nothing about the program and don’t understand what keeps drawing us back.<\/p>\n
The BB talks about what it’s like for our families, when we get sober and come in touch with the idea that God can save us from our selves. We want to broadcast our findings to everyone and convert them to our way of thinking. I can remember early on accosting others on the streets of Wash. DC and preaching the AA gospel to them, until they ran away and avoided me, whenever they saw me coming.<\/p>\n
It’s heady stuff this thing we have discovered in the program. Bill himself had the same kind of experiences in his early quest for sobriety. He tried to collar every drunk he could find, attempting to convince him of his “flash of light” and its benefits. He failed. It’s nothing new. St. Paul’s conversion led him to do the same things and he failed.<\/p>\n
I found, like St. Paul and Bill, that I had a total lack of perspective. I had taken “my” discovery out of context. What I and others like me have found is peculiar to us. We found it as the remedy, the solution, to our problem with alcohol. At the same time it filled a void we had been suffering most of our lives. The emptiness within, which used to be called “the God hole”. Our discovery of the God of our understanding ended the loneliness, which plagued us.<\/p>\n
Another aspect to consider is that those five words, “which save AA”, the God of our understanding, sets us apart. We have, instead of religion, found a spiritual movement with which we can live. Those five words have saved many lives, which might have been lost. In fact, Bill himself, almost single handedly drove others away from the program by insisting that they believe his version of God. In his writings, he accuses himself of suffering from spiritual pride. I was brought up short myself, when a member came to me and told me that’s what I was doing. It got my attention and I was forced to find some spiritual humility, as I know Bill did.<\/p>\n
All this is covered, when we practice, not only the steps, but the traditions in our individual lives. Whenever we think that we are here to save souls, we have to remember that it’s our egos talking. If I don’t want to buy another drink, I’ll have to remember that my purpose is to help another alcoholic to achieve sobriety. It’s his business, not mine, to find a God of his understanding. I’m here, hopefully, to assist and guide him into this new way of life.<\/p>\n
But, I used to love to play Monopoly. Just thinking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“We have no monopoly on God; we merely have an approach that worked for us.” That little gem is hidden in the BB. I ran across it, just before I went to sleep last night. I can get so myopic that I forget the world at large at times. It also reminds me that this … <\/p>\n