From pages 84-85;
"And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone - even alcohol. For by this time sanity will have returned. We will seldom be interested in liquor. If tempted we recoil from it as from a hot flame. We react sanely and normally, and we will find that this has happened automatically. We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or effort on our part. It just comes! That is the miracle of it. We are not fighting it, neither are we avoiding temptation. We feel as though we had been placed in a position of neutrality - safe and protected. We have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem has been removed. It does not exist for us. We are neither cocky nor are we afraid. That is our experience. That is how we react so long as we keep in fit spiritual condition."This part of our Big Book is not meant as a rebuttal to page 24 as someone used in our meeting last night. And please, don't try to bring me over to "your side" on this issue. I am powerless over drink. I'm not getting the choice back, ever! Don't mislead newcomers into believing, or even thinking, they might regain the choice either!
Doggone it! I never had a problem with that passage...until now. But I still don't see anything wrong here, maybe I misunderstood?
ReplyDeleteI hear peeps saying, "I choose this" or "I choose that"...and I don't "choose". I just seem to do whatever is next. I suppose that is a choice, in a way, I don't think about it much.
Well then I'd suggest re-reading page 24. :) Or - I could quote it here;
ReplyDelete"The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost the power of choice in drink... We are without defense against the first drink."
There's more... but...
Last night I suggested powerlessness as the meeting topic. I quoted page 24 as something that works - for me. It was a discussion topic...
Someone felt the need to countermand what works for me by using this quote above as being given back the power of choice in drink and spoke of "were" powerless but not powerless now.
There were newcomers in the meeting.
I hope this clears it up a bit and I'm open to longtimers thoughts - PLEASE!!!
Don't worry Mark, the person who still has a choice about drink will probably take it - soon.
ReplyDeleteAnd for people who never hit bottom, I don't think they will ever "get" powerlessness... and God help them until they do.
You know Mary Christine - I know you're right. I guess I'd just like to not see that again... which is unrealistic of me :)
ReplyDeleteThanks