Posted on 12/16/2004 8:18:49 AM PST by SweetCaroline
Holiday Tips -Take Care of Yourself First-Join the Discussion
"After enjoying sobriety for a few years I realize how many holidays I wasted, drinking in bars, drinking in the kitchen and becoming too drunk to join the family for dinner!" Magic
I lived with the book "Living Sober" for seven years. It offered me very helpful suggestions in some very tricky situations. I learned that no one cares if I'm drinking or not and that "what" I carried in my glass was rarely noticed by anyone. At first I had the usual questions and fears about social activities like, what do I drink and what do I say, etc. I was one of those people that learned to say "Not right now, thank you".
The holiday hype is just another world situation that we have to deal with and with peace and serenity in our lives, it just happens. We must remember that in times of hype and high stress, it's okay to withdraw and quiet our insides until we feel strong again. It took me awhile; it is not an overnight accomplishment. It takes time and that's okay too.
We first have to learn to take care of ourselves and that's not selfish. It's self preservation and growth. We can't give to others what we do not have ourselves and I can't be carried on the whim of other people especially when I realize that at the other end, I will be left with whatever has been created by the situation and the other person probably won't be there nor will they care about my insides or about the level of my peace and serenity.
If I let myself go off the deep end because of people, places, and things, who is there to catch me? No one. Except, GOD. If my life is right with GOD then me and God can handle anything.
Don't let life be controlled by any person or thing or whatever. Be in balance with things as they happen and let you soul be with the Lord and nature and things will work for the good.
Later, An anonymous alcoholic
PING
I'm sure Bill W. and Dr. Bob had no idea what they had started, but God did.
I will never understand why those two gentlemen haven't gotten a posthumous Nobel Prize.
Oh yeah, I remember: Nobel Prizes are for those who further Communism.
YEA,Cowboy I guess that would be hard to get out of your head. Many of us have hit a low point in our lives before we woke up, darn many of us. But God must have known we were good cause he has saved alot of us.Of course listening to him has something to do with it.
Traditional Native American Wiccan Midget Carol
Deck the halls with boughs of non-endangered plant species
Fa la la la la, la la la la
'Tis the season to be self-actualizing,
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Don we now our alternate-lifestyle apparel
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Toll the ancient non-denominational-winter-solstice-holiday carol
Fa la la la la, la la la la
See the blazing log of non-denominational-winter-solstice-holiday-non-endangered wood before us,
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Play the harp without unnecessary brutality and join the chorus
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Sing we emotionally stable in a collective group effort,
Fa la la la la la la la la
Heedless of the weather patterns despite the effects of global warming,
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Fast away the mature year passes
Fa la la la la la la la la
Hail the new year without any implicit ageism, ye persons
Fa la la la la la la la la
Dance in a non-hierarchical manner in merry measure,
Fa la la la la la la la la
While I tell of non-materialistic, non-denominational-winter-solstice-holiday
treasure,
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Author Unknown
LOL!
But we can be sure his domicile is decorated with padded walls!
A POLITICALLY CORRECT CAROL=PRICELESS!!!!
God takes care of drunks and children, and I'll bet He wishes drunks were as easy to care for as children.
He's carried me many times, and He loved me when I hated myself.
I had to steal that.
Listen....I'm with you on this one. Social drinking is part of our family get togethers...and thank goodness for that!
My sister-in-law is coming this year:-)
"I'm sure Bill W. and Dr. Bob had no idea what they had started, but God did."
I'm sure you're correct. Would imagine their free attention was monopolized by how to stay sober on an individual and a collective level. Amazing, in that the outgrowth of their personal success became the basis of the world's most successful recovery program for alcoholism. Next year AA will be 70 years old, as I'm sure you realize. In all that time, no other program has touched AA's success rate. And I think that's because Bill W and Dr. Bob -- and the first 100 drunks who got sober -- managed to get the whole how-to-stay sober business straight in the first place. But then I'm prejudiced. Admittedly so.
God and I weren't getting along too well when I first got sober. Not His fault, of course. I was told I could use whatever I liked as my 'Higher Power;' which may have saved my life. I was far too angry and sick to accept anything else at that point. So, my 'HP' was the collective sobriety of AA people all over the world. Around the time of my second birthday, I began to think about how amazing it was that the steps, meetings and people had been able to keep me me in one piece. More I thought about it, the more I realized that something else had to have been helping me. I wasn't a joiner, by nature. Prior to AA, I'd always been too arrogant to follow any kind of program. Prided myself on not playing by the rules yet I'd generally come out even, if not ahead. Also wasn't my style to stay plugged into any kind of group. Yet, there I was. That simple fact allowed me to get over my nonsense about God, and to simply believe again.
Not a doubt in my mind that God was the chief engineer and architect of AA. Know too many people who still marvel that they're not drunk. As I do about myself, on occasion. "We can do what I can't," definitely applies to me.
Thank you for the ping (((((Rob))))))
"Ginger Ale with a splash of Orange Juice is really tasty!!"
That sounds good, I'll have to try that. I love Ginger Ale and I like OJ OK as long as it is a bit diluted (if not fresh squeezed - this is one of the few things I'm food snobby about!) otherwise it is too sweet.
This sounds like it would make a good punch too.
Coupling all these character traits with the disease of alcoholism is a recipe for personal disaster.
That's the reason the Second Step says that "we came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity".
Not restore us to health, not take away the desire to drink, not restore our life, but "restore us to sanity".
The very character traits we hold so dear drives us insane when we succumb to the disease of alcoholism.
We can no longer rely on ourselves and our intellect and our wisdom. We are totally lost.
"But there is One who has all power. May you find Him now."
It took my husband a few years to feel comfortable in a drinking environment and now I don't think it bothers him at all.
"Nobel Prizes are for those who further Communism."
Succinctly put, I'll be using that one. Thank you!
To date he has spent over $20,000 in fines and legal fees, did jail time (which he had to reimburse the county for) which was converted to community service, was forced to see a psychologist on a weekly basis, attend alcohol abuse sessions and witness an autopsy in the Oakland county morgue. Such autopsy was supposed to be the victim of a drunk driver but instead it was an 80 year old woman who died of natural causes. Family members were never informed of this atrocity.
All the above had to be performed on a year long suspended license (over and above the 6 months he had to wait for his trial).
He was forced to sell his condo to his son in order to rent an apartment across the street from his place of employment because he was no longer able to drive!
Following the reinstatement of his "Restricted" drivers license, he was put on probabition for I dont know how long but they put one of those breathalyzer monitors on his car that he had to blow into every time he entered his vehicle.
FWIW, the female judge in Rochester, Michigan was a member of the Anti-Alcohol Nazi brigade called MADD..............
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