*~*^Just
For
Today!^*~*
There are two sides of man's being
alone. In our language, loneliness expresses the pain of being alone. Solitude
expresses the glory of being alone.
What happens to us in A.A. that makes it possible for us, not only to endure, but to enjoy moments of solitude? What changes our loneliness to solitude?
The love and understanding we find in A.A. are a protective curtain between ourselves and the aching aloneness of our drinking days. The first few weeks, some of us spend most of our time in an A.A. club talking with others. Then it becomes evident that we must go to work and somehow meet the demands and responsibilities of our daily lives. We are afraid. Will the old loneliness hit us again when we are out of the actual presence of other A.A. members?
Sooner or later, by practicing the principles of the Twelve Steps, we find in ourselves a very precious thing, something inside that we can be comfortable with regardless of whether we are at home by ourselves or anywhere else that life takes us.
A.A. members are not emotional
cripples who need someone to hold their hands every moment of the day and night
to prevent their falling. We grow up with the help of God, as we understand Him,
and the fellowship of the group, and by applying the Twelve Steps to our
lives.
1973
AAWS Inc.
Came to Believe, page
109