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MajestyJo
Average Member
Canada
590 Posts |
 Posted - 11/02/2007 : 13:50:28
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quote:
Oldtimers
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"Many oldsters who have put our AA 'booze cure'
to severe but successful tests still find
they often lack emotional sobriety.
To attain this, we must develop real maturity and balance
(which is to say humility)
in our relations with ourselves, with our fellows,
and with God."
Bill W., AA Grapevine, January 1958
c. 1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 244
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Thought to Consider . . .
Newcomers are the lifeblood of the program,
but our oldtimers are the arteries.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C H A N G E = Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth Every day
It is really sad when you see a longtimer relapse. As it says here they lack humility. I also see ego (loving the sound of their own voice and thinking their way is the only way) That is one of the reasons I like to copy and paste, because it isn't always about me. I learn from others. That is were I get my spiritual food, being open to other ideas and concepts. I don't always like to share afterwards because people don't need my two cents to take away from what they have read. I only share if something speaks to me or reminds me of something from my recovery journey.
The ones that make it back in have all shared the same thing. They stopped going to meetings and didn't have a sponsor. I missed my AA and Al-Anon meetings this week. I was glad I could go to an online meeting on Wednesday. The topic was Step One.
I knew a longtimer who relapsed after 22 years in the program. He always prefaced his shares at meetings with "keep an open mind." Another longtimer across from me mumbled, "Don't keep such an open mind that everything falls out of it." One is still out there and the other died as a result of his disease.
There is a longtimer here that has 52 years of sobriety. The light shines in his eyes. He has a beautiful smile and he is one of the most spiritual beings that I have ever met. He is very much back to basics and even left his group for a while because they chose to read Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow at the meeting. They took it out of the format and he went back to the group.
When I came into the fellowship a fellow who had 25 years of sobriety went to morning meetings daily. I figured if he still went to meetings, then it was something that I needed to do. He carried a message to me. I didn't always agree with what he shared, but that was okay. I spoke at his group's 40 year anniversary and he was the speaker thanker. He is in a nursing home and doesn't get out as much as he use to but he still goes to meetings.
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Love Always,
Each Day is a New Beginning, so have a great one. |
Edited by - MajestyJo on 11/02/2007 13:56:44 |
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Oldtimers
