Wisdom Of The Rooms - 2016

[bluidkiti]

August 8

Quote of the Week

“If you think you want a drink, just roll the tape to the end.”

Alcoholism is cunning, baffling and powerful. It’s the only disease that constantly tells me I don’t have a disease. That’s why sometimes, and without warning, I’ll find myself nursing the idea that a drink might be a good idea. A nice cold beer at a barbecue; a glass of red wine at dinner; a colorful cocktail at a chic bar. If I just think about the drink, I could be thinking myself into big trouble…

At the meetings I attend, there are recovery slogans on the wall. “One day at a time,” and “Live and let live,” and such. There is also a slogan that is hung upside down, and it is “Think, Think, Think.” When I asked my sponsor why it is upside down, he told me it was for two reasons. One is that most alcoholic’s thinking is twisted when it comes to alcohol, and two, it’s upside down so you notice it the most – it’s that important.

When I “think” past the drink, and roll the tape to the consequences of where that drink will lead me, I recoil as if from a hot flame. The illusion of fun and easy times is replaced by the hopelessness and incomprehensible demoralization I’ve experienced before – and that I know will come again from picking up that first drink. Today I am able to think my way to the inevitable, miserable end and so save myself and others from the hurt and suffering that alcohol has always caused me.