The First Drink

It is the first drink which triggers,
immediately or some time later,
the compulsion to drink more and more
until we are in drinking trouble again.
Many of us have come to believe that our alcoholism
is an addiction to the drug alcohol;
like addicts of any sort who want to maintain recovery,
we have to keep away from the first dose of the drug
we have become addicted to.
c. 1998 AAWS, Living Sober, p. 5
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Thought to Ponder . . .

When a person tries to control their drinking
they have already lost control.

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Tolerance

Honesty with ourselves and others gets us sober,
but it is tolerance that keeps us that way.
Experience shows that few alcoholics
will long stay away from a group
just because they don't like the way it is run.
Most return and adjust themselves
to whatever conditions they must.
Some go to a different group, or form a new one.
In other words, once an alcoholic fully realizes
that he cannot get well alone,
he will somehow find a way to get well
in the company of others.
It has been that way from the beginning of AA
and will probably always be so.
c. 1967 AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 312
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.




Thought to Ponder . . .

Love and tolerance of others is our code.

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Guilt

I would commence to wallow in the bog of guilt.
Here pride and rebellion would give way to depression.
Though the variations were many,
my main theme always was, "How god-awful I am.". . .
During those bouts with guilt,
there was never a decent regret for the harms I had done . .
In pride I could say, "Look at me, I am wonderful."
In guilt I would moan, "I'm awful."
Therefore guilt is really the reverse side of the coin of pride.
Bill W., June 1961
c. 1988 The AA Grapevine, Inc., The Language of the Heart, pp. 257-8




Thought to Ponder . . .

Right actions for the future
are the best apologies for wrong ones in the past.