He
was asked in the beginning, “Are you willing to go to any lengths to stay
sober?” When he heard those words, "any length", he wasn’t able to grasp their
full meaning beyond his immediate circumstances. But, when another drunk, still
wreaking with that familiar day-old booze fragrance emanating from every pore
like a skunk-sprayed dog, needed our fool to sit with him and help him through
a few hours of the shakes… the meaning
sank in. The old fool didn’t try to sober up our drunk. The old fool didn’t hit
him with the Big Book or evangelize the AA program. The fool just sat and
listened… sat in silence… just sat. When the old fool walked away, drinking was not
on his mind at all and it hadn’t been for more than a few days. He believes this
was because he had been willing and happy, most of the time, to go to these
lengths for another who suffers.
I
have heard others say that we oughtn’t to waste time with a wet drunk, and, I
have been guilty of such arrogance too. But that is when I forget where I came
from and how desperately alone I was then. When I am so busy; when my time is
so precious; when my concerns are more important than my sobriety; that
obsession to use will probably return. Nothing insures against this than taking
a few minutes with another alcoholic in need of hope. I can use that experience
as a reminder of how powerful our message is.
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