WIDENING THE CIRCLE

[Caressa2]

Widening the Circle

from: "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous"

"For the first time we had begun to sense that the character of A.A. was changing. We were beginning to have success with milder alcoholics and even some potential alcoholics. In the first years, those of us who sobered up in A.A. had been grim and utterly hopeless cases, almost without exception. But now younger folks began to appear. Lots of people turned up who still had jobs and homes and health and even good social standing. These in their turn were able to persuade others like themselves of the need for A.A."

© 1957, Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, page 199

The Hoffelds - Just For Today

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Being a little bit alcoholic is like being a little bit pregnant! I am grateful that others didn't have to go as far as I did before they sought help. I compared instead of identifying for years and stayed sick.

[majestyjo]

Don't leave someone outside of the circle because they don't meet your criteria. In today's society, there are very few 'pure' alcoholics. Many addicts in today, started with wine in the home, as a teenager, having a beer with dad, and now with legalized pot, who knows where addictions will take us.

It isn't the substance, it is the thinking behind it that causes us to pick it up in the first place that is the issue. As I shared with my friend who I met up with today. I heard a recovering heroin addict, who never drank alcohol in her life because her father was an alcoholic, tell my story in the front of CA meeting room. I was there with an ex-boyfriend for an anniversary. I never did street drugs, they say "...and any mind altering substances," so that qualifies me. He was nodding and smiling, hearing my words coming out of her mouth, she had under a year clean when she was sharing her story (relapsed after 13 years clean) and I was clean and sober for 15 years clean and sober. It is one day at a time, just for today, I choose not to use.

It all leads to the same soul sickness, no matter what substance you use. It doesn't what name you label it with, be it heroin, crack, cocaine, men, food, alcohol, relationships, sex, gambling, prescription drugs, religion, work, pot, and as I use to say, " was the candy I used when all the other things didn't work fast enough."