And a few other boring characters…
From Mel’s article “Open-Meeting Bores”
The challenge? AA … “is greatly imperiled by the great blanket of boredom that stifles many meetings from coast to coast.”
Mel’s research and conclusion: “Having arrived at the conclusion that boring meetings and groups were caused by boring members, I began to look for some means of identifying just who these members really were. Surprisingly, they were the same fellows I have seen in my own bathroom shaving mirror from time to time.”
The first in Mel’s cast of boring characters;

Making use of the slogan “Live and Let Live” – from the book “Living Sober.”
“An ancient sage said that none of us should criticize another until we have walked a mile in the other person’s boots. This wise advice can give us greater compassion for our fellow human beings. And putting it into practice makes us feel much better than being hung over.
‘Let Live’ – yes. But some of us find just as much value in the first part of the slogan: ‘Live!’
When we have worked out ways to enjoy our own living fully, then we are content to let …read more

I was speaking with a female friend yesterday. A couple of months ago her daughter gave birth to her first grandchild.
Not long after the baby was born the mother and, more specifically, the father, returned to their addictions. Mom could very well be a “social” experimenter but Dad is certainly one of “us.” He has come and gone a number of times in the last 9 years yet has not been able to remain clean or sober.
Within a short time, the baby’s parent’s had resorted to calling in bogus prescriptions for xanax, again. The law enforcement community here knows the …read more

To continue the “What A Concept” thoughts…
We return to “Living Sober” and page 12;
“We’ll meet some people in A.A. or elsewhere who won’t be exactly crazy about us, either. So all of us try to respect the rights of others to act as they choose (or must). We can then expect them to give us the same courtesy. In A.A., they generally do.”
I’m not so sure I want to develop expectations along those lines.
This goes on to say: “Usually, people who like each other – in a neighborhood, a company, a club, or A.A. – gravitate toward each other. When …read more

Is this about membership in Alcoholics Anonymous;
“Our membership ought to include all who suffer alcoholism. Hence we may refuse none who wish to recover. Nor ought AA membership ever depend on money or conformity. Any two or three alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an AA group.“
“This clearly implies that an alcoholic is a member if he says so; that we can’t deny him membership; that we can’t demand from him a cent; that we can’t force our beliefs or practices on him; that he may flout everything we stand for and still be a member. In fact, …read more

Yes, I’m being a bit facetious…
From “Living Sober” on page 11;
“To begin to put the concept of ‘Live and Let Live’ into practice, we must face this fact: There are people in A.A., and everywhere else, who sometimes say things we disagree with, or do things we don’t like.”
Ya’ think?
“Learning to live with differences is essential to our comfort. It is exactly in those cases that we have found it extremely helpful to say to ourselves, ‘Oh, well, Live and Let Live.’”
How often did you wind up with a resentment and drink at someone simply because you didn’t like what …read more

The First One!
From “Living Sober” we’re told something profoundly simple on page 3;
“We have found that for us recovery began with not drinking – with getting sober and staying completely free of alcohol in any amount, and in any form. We have also found that we have to stay away from other mind-changing drugs. We can move toward a full and satisfying life only when we stay sober. Sobriety is the launching pad for our recovery.”
That ain’t middle-of-the-road psycho-babble, that is directly out of AA approved literature! This is for those who have questioned the presence of the word “abstinence” …read more

Okay, I’ve heard it a thousand times… and, guess what? I think I did the same thing!
A couple of days, weeks, months of not drinking. No sponsor. No Steps. No clue.
But – you’re smart. Or, you really don’t want us to know your truth.
So you wear a mask of “I’m sober today.” You wear a mask of “I’d like to thank my Higher Power whom I choose to call God that I’m sober today, I’ll pass…” When you’re asked what your sobriety date is you say “April, 2008.” If you’re asked what Step you’re on you tell us “well, in …read more

I’ll let you read through this and then I’ll tell you what principle could be destroyed…
From page 298 in “The Language of the Heart”
“At this point in our very early experience there remained, however, one missing link – an absolutely vital one. We still lacked a full comprehension of the terrific impact at great depth which one alcoholic talking to another could make. I had partly realized this when my alcoholic friend and sponsor, Ebby, told me about his own drinking, his release from it and of the Oxford Group principles which had made this possible. Still more realization came …read more

And I don’t understand why its changed…
When I walked into my first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous the folks who were already members didn’t adapt AA to me or for me. They went about their business as they had been doing all along before I arrived. They also didn’t tell me I was the most important person in the room because they knew we are all important persons! Equal!
So why have we developed this “new version” of Alcoholics Anonymous today to the extent that we adapt AA each and every single time a newcomer arrives??? “Let’s have a first step meeting…”