Drop Anchor
Every good thing I have in my life is a direct result of my active participation in AA. Because I’m sober, I am employable. I have healthy relationships with my wife and kids. I am a better friend; I am a good citizen. So why is it that when things begin going well for me my tendency is to drift away from my participation in AA, which produces those good things?
One of the problems I have is that I find it easy to break promises I make to myself. A solution I have found is to make commitments that support my recovery. If I do I’m likely to fulfill them. These commitments are like little “anchors.” They keep me close to AA, the Fellowship and the Higher Power I need to live comfortably sober and usefully whole. My anchors include my home group, where I take jobs that require me to show up; or a sponsor that I’ve committed to seeing face-to-face each week; or sponsees who I take through the Steps.
Letting my family and friends know that I’m sober has also been a good anchor. As my sobriety became more stable, my comfort level with people knowing I’m a recovered alcoholic increased. The people in my life who know how important sobriety is to me have expanded to include some coworkers and my employer. I began to offer my services to the people around me. I let them know that I can be relied on as a resource to help others who want to quit drinking. Every time I see these people who know that I’m a sober member of AA, I’m reminded of the offer I made them and my commitment to remaining sober and useful is intensified.
As I became more and more certain that I’m on the AA beam, I became willing to expand my offer to be a resource to others who may be suffering from active alcoholism. I’ve had conversations with professionals in my life. I know that my clergyman, my doctor and my kids’ teachers may come across people who may need or want to stop drinking. The conversations I’ve had with the professionals in my life have been very simple. They go like this: “I am a sober, active member of Alcoholics Anonymous and have been for 29 years. I know that in the course of your work you may run into people who may have a desire to stop drinking. If you do, I want you to know that I am willing and able to talk to those people confidentially. AA has worked for me and AA may be of help to them.” I then give the professional a business card that our local Intergroup office has made with contact information for anyone to contact AA. Personal CPC work is as simple as that. Every time I do this, my usefulness is intensified and another anchor to AA and sobriety is in place.
