Page 7 - hojas sueltas flip_Neat

hope, their strength and their experiences to stay away from the cup
... They didn’t charge me a thing. They asked nothing of me. They
didn’t tell me anything about my SITUATION. They spoke of, what
they had suffered through in their active alcoholism, what they had
gone through...of their past experiences ... and about how everyone
hit their lowest point ... And it seems that everyone has their lowest
point (some of theirs was more morbid than mine; others weren’t as
painful as the lowest point to which I got ... but their lowest point).

By telling me the episodes of their lives, I saw my episodes in theirs.
Because they also knew of halfway sleeping; of the yellow and
green bile vomiting, of the cruel nervousness, of the fear; of anxiety,
amnesia...pain...the loss of natural ambitions ... of defeat! For the first
time in my life, I knew I was not alone and that there were many who
were in the same boat as me.

Although I was overfly skeptical and pessimistic, I went to the
first meeting. I wasn’t charged a thing. They had no fees; not even
the people who led the meetings. They were humble servers of
the group placed there over time by the group itself. No record of
members existed nor did they do roll call. They didn’t make you sing
hymns, kneel, sign an oath, or make promises. EVERYTHING WAS
SUGGESTED.

I learned many things. God helped me have a clear mind. I learned
that alcoholism is a disease, and an alcoholic is ill.

An alcoholic is...that who creates problems in any aspect of their life
when they come into contact with alcohol. The disease of alcoholism
is psychosomatic. It affects the body, mind ... and soul.

I learned the difference between the social drinker and problem
drinker (or alcoholic). Because I had to be true to myself, for my own
salvation, I recognized that I was a problem drinker (or alcoholic).

I learned the difference between abstinence and SOBREITY. I had
periods of abstinence. To stop drinking for a while longer more or
less, betraying one’s own private desires to drink. I understood how
agonizing these periods are. It means letting go of that idling bottle in
your head. I learned, however, that SOBREITY, in the peculiar
language of A. A, is that ineffable state of mental clarity, emotional