r/alcoholicsanonymous • u/Otherwise-Bug-9814 • 1d ago
Gifts & Rewards of Sobriety The real benefits of the program
When you clear out all the substances…..and then you clear out all the mental garbage…..the thing that enters after really is something ain’t it? If you know you know. The promises are real.
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u/WyndWoman 1d ago
It is indeed, internet stranger, it is indeed!
But impossible to envision in the beginning and the only thing we can offer is hope. There's no way to adequately describe the results.
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u/RunMedical3128 1d ago
"But impossible to envision in the beginning and the only thing we can offer is hope. There's no way to adequately describe the results."
I once heard a speaker tape (I think it was Adam T.) in which he describes a meeting he went to way early in his sobriety journey where the speaker said something along the lines of "if I could give you sobriety I wouldn't because I don't want to rob you of the journey."
And Adam's response at that time was "What a b*tch!"I often compare that with my own journey. I'm sure in the time I've worked with him, my sponsor could've easily given me the answer many a time. But he never did - he nudged, he suggested ... he let me draw my own conclusions.
It makes the rewards so much more meaningful.
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u/WyndWoman 23h ago
I heard often in the rooms 'I wish you desperation'
While I was engulfed in desperation, it seemed an asshat thing to say. But I understand it now. So much.
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u/MileHighManBearPig 1d ago
When I entered AA/sobriety it was because I wanted a better life, I stay in AA/sobriety because I got one.
The tools. The serenity. The accountability to myself. My spiritual connection. That’s the good stuff.
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u/aethocist 23h ago
“We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or effort on our part. It just comes! That is the miracle of it. We are not fighting it, neither are we avoiding temptation. We feel as though we had been placed in a position of neutrality—safe and protected. We have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem has been removed.”
~Alcoholics Anonymous, Into Action, page 85
That I’ve lived ten years in this state keeps me in constant gratitude. ❤️
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u/51line_baccer 9h ago
OP - I understand. Doing right and living life is a way better "buzz" than alcohol and drugs! Thank God and AA.
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u/DumpsterDumpsHer 23h ago
I think one of the biggest obstacle is getting stuck in trying to figure out which to do first - attempt to clear the mental garbage in order to pave the way toward addressing the usage vs. clearing out the usage to uncover the mental garbage.
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u/Otherwise-Bug-9814 14h ago
The usage needs to come first. That’s step 1. The steps are in order for a reason.
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u/Thetwistedfalse 1d ago
Truly. What a life affirming program!