Recover4Life

As Bill Sees It

Conviction and Compromise, p. 59

One qualification for a useful life is give-and-take, the ability to
compromise cheerfully. Compromise comes hard to us "all or nothing" drunks. Nevertheless, we must never lose sight of the fact that progress is nearly always characterized by a series of improving compromises.

Of course, we cannot always compromise. There are circumstances in which it is necessary to stick flat-footed to one's convictions until the issue is resolved. Deciding when to compromise and when not to compromise always calls for the most careful discrimination.

Twelve Concepts, pp. 39-40

Walk In Dry Places

The Fix that Never was_____ Recovery

In all of the despair and defeat that went along with drinking, most of us held to the ideal of a "fantastic fix"----- a drinking experience so fulfilling and complete that it would solve our problems and leave us searching no more. Compulsive disorders, like alcoholism, seem to include this delusion. The gambler looks for the big score, the overeater seeks the total enjoyment of food, and the s*x ju**ie searches for the perfect partner. But the search never ends, because our compulsions always drive us to seek stronger wine and greater excitement. The only fix that will ever work has to be rooted in sobriety and right living. When we think and live properly, free from alcohol, we find a fix that really works. We find continuous satisfaction instead of soaring excitement, sound relationships with other people instead of ego-gratifying encounters, and purpose instead of drifting. The peak experience we had been seeking is a fix that never can be. We can be truly "fixed" only by staying sober.

I will live calmly and gratefully today, forgetting the drive for excitement that was destroying me. My Higher Power knows who I am and what I should be doing.

As Bill Sees It

To Guard Against A Slip, p. 52

Suppose we fall short of our chosen ideals and stumble? Does this
mean we are going to get drunk? Some people tell us so. But this is
only a half-truth.

It depends on us and on our motives. If we are sorry for what we have done, and have the honest desire to let God take us to better things, we believe we will be forgiven and will have learned our lesson. If we are not sorry, and our conduct continues to harm others, we are quite sure to drink. These are facts out of our experience.

Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 70