Thanks to quantim for the graphic! Freegards, RobFromGa
Posted on 12/11/2004 5:37:20 AM PST by RobFromGa
On my first day of sobriety my Higher Power gave to me; Admission to a detox center.
On my second day of sobriety my Higher Power gave to me: My first 24 hours without a drink.
On my third day of sobriety my Higher Power gave to me: My first AA meeting.
On my fifth day of sobriety my Higher Power gave to me: Admission to Shirley Frank rehab.
On my 33rd day of sobriety my Higher Power gave to me: My first day out of rehab.
On my 183rd of sobriety my Higher Power gave to me: Six months of utterly confusing sobriety.
On my 212th of sobriety my Higher Power gave to me: A new job.
On my 365th day of sobriety my Higer Power gave to me: A year's worth of AA.
On my 373rd day of sobriety my Higer Power gave to me: A divorce from my first wife.
On my 2595th day of sobriety my Higer Power gave to me: A meeting with my wife to be.
On my 5062nd day of sobriety my Higher Power gave to me: My son Aleksander.
On my 5854th day of sobriety my Higer Power gave to me: Today - another day of sobriety.
There's a whole lot more but those are the hightlights.
You may be an alcoholic if...You keep a bottle of liquor next to your bed so you can have breakfast in bed when you wake up.
You consider anything less than 80 proof a chaser.
You’ve eaten 87 packets of honey mustard because on the label it lists “white wine” as an ingredient.
You have convinced yourself that you’re not drinking
alone so long as your friends Jack, Jim and Johnnie
are over.
Your wardrobe is divided into Summer, Winter and
Things You Woke Up Wearing. The third category
includes a number of thongs.
You measure time by drinks, as in: "Hold on a shot, the movie doesn't start for another four bourbons."
To you "Last call!" sounds just like "Please don’t leave! We love you and you're charming wit!"
You don’t use cologne or aftershave because you have a moral objection to alcohol going anywhere but down your throat.
You always finish your drinks because there are sober people in China.
When you come home to find your house burglarized the first thing you check is your liquor cabinet.
You'll join A.A. when they start serving cocktails at the meetings.
Your ATM is a Dumpster full of recyclable cans.
You'll sleep through a train wreck, yet spring awake to the sound of a bottle top turning.
Rob, you're trying to juggle semantics.
If you are an alcoholic, you won't have any choice about letting it into your body again, anymore than you have a choice about breathing.
Your body will demand it.
You have the usual fear of being powerless over anything .
I understand. I've been there.
God bless, Rob....
During this homily this morning the priest talked about addiction, he referenced St. Thomas Aquinas from the Summa Theologica. I had no idea this was in there, I paste it here for interest.
Whether blindness of mind and dulness of sense arise from sins of the flesh?
Objection 1. It would seem that blindness of mind and dulness of sense do not arise from sins of the flesh. For Augustine (Retract. i, 4) retracts what he had said in his Soliloquies i, 1, "God Who didst wish none but the clean to know the truth," and says that one might reply that "many, even those who are unclean, know many truths." Now men become unclean chiefly by sins of the flesh. Therefore blindness of mind and dulness of sense are not caused by sins of the flesh.
Objection 2. Further, blindness of mind and dulness of sense are defects in connection with the intellective part of the soul: whereas carnal sins pertain to the corruption of the flesh. But the flesh does not act on the soul, but rather the reverse. Therefore the sins of the flesh do not cause blindness of mind and dulness of sense.
Objection 3. Further, all things are more passive to what is near them than to what is remote. Now spiritual vices are nearer the mind than carnal vices are. Therefore blindness of mind and dulness of sense are caused by spiritual rather than by carnal vices.
On the contrary, Gregory says (Moral. xxxi, 45) that dulness of sense arises from gluttony and blindness of mind from lust.
I answer that, The perfect intellectual operation in man consists in an abstraction from sensible phantasms, wherefore the more a man's intellect is freed from those phantasms, the more thoroughly will it be able to consider things intelligible, and to set in order all things sensible. Thus Anaxagoras stated that the intellect requires to be "detached" in order to command, and that the agent must have power over matter, in order to be able to move it. Now it is evident that pleasure fixes a man's attention on that which he takes pleasure in: wherefore the Philosopher says (Ethic. x, 4,5) that we all do best that which we take pleasure in doing, while as to other things, we do them either not at all, or in a faint-hearted fashion.
Now carnal vices, namely gluttony and lust, are concerned with pleasures of touch in matters of food and sex; and these are the most impetuous of all pleasures of the body. For this reason these vices cause man's attention to be very firmly fixed on corporeal things, so that in consequence man's operation in regard to intelligible things is weakened, more, however, by lust than by gluttony, forasmuch as sexual pleasures are more vehement than those of the table. Wherefore lust gives rise to blindness of mind, which excludes almost entirely the knowledge of spiritual things, while dulness of sense arises from gluttony, which makes a man weak in regard to the same intelligible things. On the other hand, the contrary virtues, viz. abstinence and chastity, dispose man very much to the perfection of intellectual operation. Hence it is written (Dan. 1:17) that "to these children" on account of their abstinence and continency, "God gave knowledge and understanding in every book, and wisdom."
Reply to Objection 1. Although some who are the slaves of carnal vices are at times capable of subtle considerations about intelligible things, on account of the perfection of their natural genius, or of some habit superadded thereto, nevertheless, on account of the pleasures of the body, it must needs happen that their attention is frequently withdrawn from this subtle contemplation: wherefore the unclean can know some truths, but their uncleanness is a clog on their knowledge.
Reply to Objection 2. The flesh acts on the intellective faculties, not by altering them, but by impeding their operation in the aforesaid manner.
Reply to Objection 3. It is owing to the fact that the carnal vices are further removed from the mind, that they distract the mind's attention to more remote things, so that they hinder the mind's contemplation all the more.
FYI - in case you don't know muc about philsophy or for other's benefit reading this that don't. St Thomas Aquinas is generally regarded as at least one of the, if not the, greatest Christian philsopher who ever lived. He wrote in the 13th Century, his philsophy continues to dominate Catholic thought. His work Summa Theologica is the default starting point for any serious philsophical inquiry in the Catholic tradition - other names for him "the Angelic Doctor", "the Doctor", "the Master"
I find this piece interesting since it is in congruence with AA philosphy. In other words it took secular Western culture about 700 years to catch up with Aquinas LOL.
You are so right. We are given free will by God - to use it either to serve Him or to choose a darker path.
Eve used her free will to disobey God and eat from the forbidden tree. We use our free will every day to get ourselves into one kind of trouble or another. Or, we can also use our free will to turn our lives around - as you have with your fight against alcoholism. It is a wonderful gift that we have been given - provided that we use it to honor and to thank God by bettering ourselves, not harming ourselves and others.
I pray that God continues to bless you and your family abundantly. Know that you have many friends here that would do whatever necessary to help you should you feel lost, alone, weak, or in any kind of need.
Have a great trip this week and please keep us posted.
"AA will say you'll always have the desire to drink."
I've been sober in AA since 1970, and I have NEVER heard that remark. Nor has that experience been true for me.
I do believe the desire to drink can crop up at any time. Given enough rotten circumstances -- and if I've strayed too far from what I need to remember and practice -- it's possible that the thought of taking a drink will cross my mind. BUT, there's a big difference between thinking about a drink and actually taking a drink. Thus far, "I haven't found it necessary" to destroy my sobriety. Thank God. Hope that helps.
Wellllllllllllll the two groups with the most alcoholism are:
1) Children of alcoholics
2) Children of rabid teetotalers.
On the other hand, France seems to be totally drunk out of their minds all the time.
bttt
"The surrender that they talk about at AA in my area sounds more like giving up responsibility to God for our sobriety as something that is "out of our control"."
Whoops. Sounds to me as though someone may be scrambling a couple of different AA beliefs. Haven't a clue about meetings in your area, but my understanding has always been:
-- I am powerless over alcohol. No argument there. Once I got really honest with myself, I had to admit that I had lost the ability to control my drinking, or predict my behavior, once I took a drink.
-- God, or a Higher Power (of my own choosing), can and will assist me if I ask for help. Belief isn't that He'll do it for me. The work is mine to do. He sure is nice backup though!
It was essential that I give up the idea that I could control my drinking. (Chapter 3 in "the Big Book" talks all about that.) NONE of the facts supported that I could, you understand. No one who knew me would have told you that I could "take it or leave it." But as an egotistical, practicing alcoholic, the last thing I wanted to admit was that "anything" could be stronger than my own will. I thought it would show weakness if I admitted that booze had me whipped, and that I needed help. Later learned the opposite is true. It takes courage to surrender any problem, and certainly one of that magnitude.
Hope this helps!
You said, "Rob, you're trying to juggle semantics. If you are an alcoholic, you won't have any choice about letting it into your body again, anymore than you have a choice about breathing. Your body will demand it."
I can't prove you are wrong, but I think I can keep from taking the first drink, but I know I can't control the amount after that.
I may be posting a thread in a year saying I was an idiot who thought I could keep from drinking, and if I am proven wrong, I will be the first to admit it.
I appreciate your contributions to this discussion and I certainly respect your opinions and your sobriety.
I agree 100% with everything that you said. I can easily "surrender" to the idea that I am unable to control my drinking, once I took a drink. So, I intend to not let that happen again.
Please add me to your ping list.
I sent you a private message.
You have made a huge impact on me today. Thanks!
We all get to where we are in life by many different roads, and my way of staying sober certainly is not the only way.
Just remember that alcoholism is progressive, and what you can do today you probably won't be able to do in a year or two.
I'm completely comfortable in my sobriety, but I still follow the do's and don'ts I learned in AA.
My sobriety was a gift from God, and I thank Him everyday for that.
You made the list, and I hope that we are able to help you. I know that you can do it, it sounds to me like you have the strength to beat this demon. Let me know if I can help.
Thanks to quantim for the graphic! Freegards, RobFromGa
please add me to your ping list.
And good luck to you. Keep up the good work.
I would disagree with that. I've been sober for more than a decade and it's been a very long time since I spent any time at all thinking about drinking. The obsession has been gone for at least five years now. The worst I get now is a drunk dream once a year. Not even the panicky oh $hit my life is screwed. it's danm now I've gotta be an AA newbie again. That's it.
Oh, man! I had to have a good laugh over that one!
I remember those dreams! I'd wake up in a cold sweat saying, "WHY? WHY did I pick up that first drink? Now I gotta trade my wet one in for a dry one!"
I'd go splash some cold water on my face to make sure I was awake. Those aren't dreams; they're nightmares!
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