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ISSUE 7 |
THE SUN-DRY | APRIL 2008 | ||
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AA
POSITIONS OPEN: PUBLIC INFORMATION COMMITTEE El Paso AA
needs a Chairperson for our Public Information Committee. We are
also looking for persons to assist in informing the public about AA.
Both positions come with flexible hours and great payback to the
soul for sound service work. Like all of
A.A., the primary purpose of members involved in public information
service is to carry the A.A. message to the alcoholic who still
suffers by talking about what A.A. is and what we do. They give
talks, respond to public inquiries at health fairs, churches,
businesses, and attend other community events. Additionally, the
public information committee cooperates with the professional
community. This committee is also responsible for sending
people out to share their stories. Participation
as chair or a committee member offers tremendous opportunities to do
Service Work. This is an excellent way to carry the message to the
alcoholic who still suffers. That’s good for the Public and good
for the service worker’s soul. |
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Sponsorship and trying
to explain “Hitting Bottom” Ken
G., |
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What
does it mean to be SOBER? There’s
a big difference between being dry and being sober.
I can stop drinking, keep the substances out of my body, but
that doesn’t take the alcoholism out of my brain. I’m still
“like a tornado roaring [my] way through the lives of others.”
For me, for today, not drinking is just not enough. So
what is sobriety? What does it take to be more than just a dry
drunk? It takes recovery on three levels: physical, emotional and
spiritual. Physical
sobriety is simple enough: just don’t take that drink. Some of us
can stay dry for long periods of time, fooling ourselves that it’s
enough just not to drink one day at a time. But the Big Book tells
us that, without further action, the day will inevitably come when
we have no defense against that first drink. That’s
where spiritual sobriety comes in, giving us the faith that we need
to stay sober one day at a time. Reliance on a power greater than
ourselves rather than reliance on our own self-will is absolutely
necessary. So
here I am, not drinking and relying on HP to keep me that way. Is
that enough? What about the hostile way I talk to my spouse and
children? What about the obsessive way I project into the future?
What about the fears that paralyze me, that keep me from living my
life? Is that sober
living? I think not. Working
the steps as a newcomer is often just about surviving that first
year of sobriety. We begin to clean up the wreckage of the past and
start to build a foundation for a happier and healthier future. But
then what? Staying sober for a lifetime requires action and more
action…and more action. Sobriety
means looking at myself first. It means working a vigorous program in all areas of my
life. I may be abstaining from alcohol, but am I acting out in some
other way? I need to be willing to look at whatever I am doing that
keeps me from the sunlight of the spirit, whatever I am using to
just survive instead of really live.
Sometimes that’s another substance, but sometimes it’s a
behavior that keeps me angry, afraid and alone. |
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JOURNAL QUESTION! Take a few
minutes this week to write an answer to the following question. Send
it in by email and you just might see your response in the next
issue ! SEND ANSWER TO AAELPASO@SBCGLOBAL.NET ATTN: AIDA |
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| aaelpaso@sbcglobal.net | AA Central Office of El Paso | (915) 562-4081 |