FREEDOM FROM . . . FREEDOM TO
We are going to know a new freedom. . . .
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 83
Freedom for me is both freedom from and freedom to. The first freedom I enjoy is freedom from the slavery of alcohol. What a relief! Then I begin to experience freedom from fear—fear of people, of economic insecurity, of commitment, of failure, of rejection. Then I begin to enjoy freedom to—freedom to choose sobriety for today, freedom to be myself, freedom to express my opinion, to experience peace of mind, to love and be loved, and freedom to grow spiritually. But how can I achieve these freedoms? The Big Book clearly says that before I am halfway through making amends, I will begin to know a “new” freedom; not the old freedom of doing what I pleased, without regard to others, but the new freedom that allows fulfillment of the promises in my life. What a joy to be free!
I’ll be dead before I make that number but I’m sober today. Amazing my friend, absolutely amazing. Not just the amount of sobriety but the fact you have kept some humility and still remember to share with and inspire the newcomer. props to you sir.
Thanks. That was last weekend Got sober on 11 August 2003. Back then it was uncommon in South Africa for a 27 year old to be in recovery. Today I have an unofficial “27 Club” in sobriety. People are getting the message a lot earlier these days. Maybe it’s the planetary awakening?
I’ve learnt through being a sponsor that I really don’t run the show. When I began people would come to me and I would expect them to do exactly what I did and recover exactly how I have. They would ask for my help and then not listen to a word they were told.
I’ve learnt more about my own character defects than there’s.
The successes are god given and the failures are ego driven, all we can do is tell them what we did.
It’s still hard to see people struggle but we can’t help those who won’t help themselves.
This is huge! Yes be proud there is something that happens inside of us when we take charge and not allow the demon to linger around to taunt us or think it’s more powerful than we can be for ourselves.
I to am new in sobriety and I belonged to a wine club, ( I don’t even care for wine a whole bunch) but my monkey with very deep claws had told me it’s ok because they only give me a bottle a month. So I would “collect” aka hoard all these bottles of wine like, see I don’t have that big of a problem because I can save alcohol for weeks. All the while the day would come when I didn’t have the extra $ to get a 12_24 pk and too the wine I went… but ya see it wasn’t one bottle at a time ohh no. I would proceed to drink 4_5 bottles of that wine. And somehow live through the nightmare I created from that night and start over again. So let me get back to my point
I had been "saving this last coveted bottle of wine, I mean because one I don’t even like wine right?! And two I had to either give it to someone who really deserves it or save it for the day I set myself up for failure because that bottle definitely reminded me daily that it was still there for me if I needed I wouldn’t need to spend money nobody would know…on and on with the million and one excuses I’ve lied to myself about. So I myself finally just gave it away. It felt good it was liberating and I now too have zero alcohol in my home and at least for today I’m going to keep it that way.
So be proud of yourself and I think it’s amazing that we can share our experiences together and build each other up and stand strong. Thanks for letting me share. God bless
Today’s reflection agrees with you.
props to you sir.
Got sober on 11 August 2003. Back then it was uncommon in South Africa for a 27 year old to be in recovery. Today I have an unofficial “27 Club” in sobriety. People are getting the message a lot earlier these days. Maybe it’s the planetary awakening? 
. Inspiration . 
