Corking the Bottle

I've written  umpteen times that the issue that led me to drink was looking to my past and comparing it with my present. That was depressing, and seemed to be fixable only with another drink. Then another. One of my favorite Beatles songs, probably not surprising, is one that goes like this: There are places I remember all my life Though some have changed Some forever not for better Some have gone and some remain I went through an onslaught of change that caught up with me around 2006. From there it was a slow descent into depression. If I drank a little, my mood would swing to a better place. But eventually, I couldn't drink just a little. And I know I'll never lose affection For people and things that went before I know I'll often stop and think about them... The Ninth Step Promises in the Big Book, which we read before every meeting, describes the way we should remember our past: "We will not forget the past nor wish to shut the door on it....

This week I celebrated nine months of sobriety as I received my purple chip at my A.A. home group. Today I met with my counselor for the first time in several months. I enjoyed telling her about my abstinence success. Life is good again! The Ninth Step Promises really do come true.

The Ninth Step Promises someone reads before every A.A. meeting are significant to every recovering alcoholic. They also deliver a powerful message to anyone seeking to turn his world around and lead a God-centered life. Think about these words from your unique vantage point, from page 83-84 of the Big Book: "If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are halfway through. We are going to find a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook on life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively kno...