Corking the Bottle

Someone distributed sheets of paper on the tables at A.A. today, labeled "Twelve Tips on Keeping Your Holiday Season Sober and Joyous." I thought I would pass along these tips to you, slightly abridged, in case you are tempted to make your Christmas too jolly. Line up A.A. activities for the holiday season. Volunteer. Be host to A.A. friends, especially newcomers. At least invite them to meet you for coffee. Keep your A.A. telephone list handy with you at all times. Find out about any special A.A. holiday parties, meetings, or other celebrations. Skip any drinking occasion you are nervous about. "And lead us not into temptation." If you have to go to a drinking party and can't take an A.A. with you, keep some candy handy. Don't think you have to stay someplace late. Have an exit excuse ready. Worship in your own way. Don't sit around brooding. Catch up on books, museums, walks, and letters. Don't start now getting worked up about holid...

"I don't drink to get happy or forget the pain. I drink to stop the voices in my head."  -- Andrew Dice Clay I'm sorry for quoting a potty mouth like Dice Clay. But his words, in this instance, apply to the message I wanted to deliver to you today. I once drank because I wanted to. I didn't want to quit. When I finally came to the realization that I had to stop, I still didn't stop. I relapsed again and again. When I bought liquor, it wasn't some part of a big plan, because I was depressed, because I was celebratory, because I was hopeless, or because I was angry. I drank because the voices in my head told me to. "Come on," they said. "Prove to yourself you aren't an alcoholic." "You can just drink a little at a time and you won't get drunk." "Nobody will ever know." "You can drink only late at night and it will help you sleep better." "Don't let Kathy (my w...

I hesitated about posting to my Facebook friends I was alcoholic. I thought long and hard. What will people think of me? What do people think of alcoholics in general? A.A.'s Twelfth Step says, "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs." It dawned on me that I could do a better job carrying the message to alcoholics if people knew they could come to me for support. I added the address of this blog on Facebook so friends could read this and refer others to it. I received a huge outpouring of love and empathy as a result of sharing my disease. Facebook friends added to the number of views of this blog. I shouldn't have been so hesitant to tell others of my disease. From page 20 of the Big Book: "Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs." And from page 124: ...