[bluidkiti]

May 6

Quote of the Week

"Keep coming back and don’t drink."

I had a lot of problems in my life before I got sober. I had job problems (what I was doing wasn’t exactly legal), I had relationship problems (with everyone from my neighbors to my family to my friends), and I had tons of other stuff I was juggling that caused me constant stress. Oh, and then there was the continuous drinking, the blacking out, and all the mess that went with that. To say the least, my life was complicated.

When I entered the rooms, I couldn’t wait to tell people how much was going on in my life. I told my sponsor, my best friend, and any other poor soul who asked that dangerous question of newcomers, “How are you doing?” What I wanted so desperately was solutions. I needed answers and advice, and frankly an offer of a good job would have been helpful as well. All I got, though, was, “Keep coming back and don’t drink.” What? Aren’t you listening? That wasn’t going to solve my problems. I need some real help!

What I learned, however, was that it took many years for my life to go so wrong, and that it was going to take some time to fix it as well. The most important thing I needed to do was stay sober so that it could get better. What I’ve also learned over the years is that as long as I do keep showing up and going to meetings, I will hear the solutions I need and often just when I need them. In fact, I’ve found that the more I change, the more the solutions that I need change, too. My life has gotten a lot better, but it wouldn’t have been possible if I hadn’t followed the advice I got early on: “Keep coming back and don’t drink—one day at a time.”