FOREWORD AND THE DOCTOR’S OPINION.
The Big book, is in my opinion, the greatest book that has ever been written, for it not only saved my life, by giving me precise instructions on how to stop drinking, but it also allowed me to start and develop a wonderful relationship with a God of my own concept or understanding.The first edition, started with a Forward, in which the sentence, “To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book,“ is written. This still holds good today. There then follows a piece known as ‘The Doctor’s Opinion.’ This is basically a letter written by a Dr William D. Silkworth, who was at the time, “A well-known doctor, chief physician at a nationally prominent hospital specializing in alcoholic and drug addiction.” He had treated Bill, and had tried very hard for a number of years to help Bill and other alcoholics to keep sober. He describes the affliction of alcoholism, and how very hard he found it to keep anyone sober, including Bill. He then saw Bill change completely, all through what we now know to be spiritual principles, and saw that not only was Bill able to keep himself sober, he was also able to help others. I have written a few words about this, I pray you enjoy them.
The book that saved my life,
Is our wonderful ‘Big Book,’
I love every part of it,
Please do give it a look;
Written in the late 1930′s,
In the wonderful USA,
It contains certain instructions,
To help us soberly on our way.
It has a ‘Forward’ and ‘The Doctor’s Opinion,’
Then another eleven chapters bright,
All to help the alcoholic.
Be sober, joyful and light;
It also contains stories,
From members of all kinds,
All to help readers identify,
And have peaceful, sober minds.
“Precisely how we have recovered,”
Is in the forward to the first edition,
A precise solution has been found,
That solves our drunken condition;
It’s the first time in history,
If we look at the story of the ages,
We should rejoice every day,
For the beautiful instructions on its pages.
I am so very grateful,
That there is now a solution,
One that we should pass on constantly,
That is my daily resolution;
Something found in my parents’ lifetime,
Where previously there never was none,
AA allows me not only to be sober,
But to be full of happiness and fun.
After the ‘Forward’ there is ‘The Doctor’s Opinion,’
Written by fabulous Dr Silkworth,
Who tried his utmost and best,
To bring his charges sobriety and mirth;
He lists the impossible condition of alcoholics,
And realises that no matter how hard he did strive,
He could not keep any of his charges,
Permanently and soberly alive.
He states that “if a doctor is honest with himself,”
“He must sometimes feel his own inadequacy,”
Yet when he wrote this opinion,
He was starting to see people sober and full of glee;
He talks about knowing Bill previously,
And how about he did change,
And that by doing certain altruistic things,
He did through the world happily range.
He talks about the “phenomenon of craving,”
And “the manifestation of an allergy,”
And even though he knew his facts,
A way out for alcoholics he couldn’t see;
But then he saw that Bill had changed,
And heard him tell his story to many another,
He noticed how unselfish he became,
And how he treated everyone as a brother.
His final paragraph says,
“I earnestly advise every alcoholic to read this book through,”
I am so grateful for his beautiful words,
And would advise the same to anyone too;
“And though perhaps he came to scoff,
He may remain to pray,”
I certainly arrived as a scoffer,
But now I pray gratefully every day.
CHAPTER ONE – BILL’S STORY.
Bill’s story, wonderful Bill, who was the first of us to get sober. He then met Dr Bob, and they then started to work with others. After a few years, when they realised they had found something special, they published the book Alcoholics Anonymous, the ‘Big Book,’ At that time, the Fellowship only numbered about 100. How wonderful, and now the Big Book, and the solution it contains is spread all around the world, It’s because of Bill, the book, and the beauty of God and AA that I am alive today. I am so grateful to him, to Dr Bob, to everyone who I have ever met in AA, they are on my gratitude list every day. I must always realise, that never before in the history of mankind, has there been a solution to our problem. Thank you Bill, thank you Dr Bob and all those early pioneers, and thank you lovely God for all the beauty you have allowed come into our lives through AA, and may we pray that AA does humbly and healthily, spiritually grow and glow.
Bill’s Story,
First Chapter of our Big Book,
Containing the wonderful solution,
Do give it a look;
Born in Vermont,
In the USA,
This lovely man,
One of the founders of AA.
He found alcohol in his teens,
It worked for many years,
But eventually it brought him only misery,
And lots and lots of tears;
He often tried to stay dry,
To never again have a drop,
But no matter what he did,
He never could stay stopped.
He had a wife and family,
Was committed many a time,
But always on discharge,
Was soon back on the wine;
Then Eby called one day,
A former drinking friend,
Who said he had a solution,
For Bill’s drinking to end.
He didn’t stop right away,
But it was the start,
That led to our Fellowship,
And many a happy heart;
He managed eventually to get sober,
And to Akron did go,
Trying to help others,
Enjoy a sober glow
He met there Dr Bob,
In May 1935,
And soon thereafter,
Our Fellowship came alive;
Dr Bob stayed sober,
And together they tried even more,
To help others every day,
Connect with a God they could adore.
From this humble beginning,
From this flimsy reed,
A book was later written,
To help fill the desperate need;
Now many years later,
AA has spread all over the earth,
To help people be sober,
And enjoy a life of freedom and mirth.
I am so very grateful,
For without AA I’d be dead,
The founders are on my gratitude list,
And in my prayers when I go to bed;
Only started in the 1930′s,
Before that there was no respite,
Only death awaited,
To make the head peaceful and quite.
Thank God for the twelve steps,
From a loving God or Higher Power,
I am eternally grateful,
Every second of every hour;
For I was in despair,
Contemplating suicide,
When I came to AA,
To be welcomed with arms wide.
Thank you, thank you, thank you,
How can we ever repay,
The beauty of our Fellowship,
That gives many a sober day;
Thank you lovely God,
For giving the solution to Bill,
That allows us to surrender our will,
And have a mind happy and still.
CHAPTER TWO – THERE IS A SOLUTION.
Chapter Two, describes the very simple solution, things that our founders did to keep sober. These they set out, thank God, in the life-saving book, Alcoholics Anonymous, our beautiful Big Book. As it says on page 20, “Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs.” I pray the words I have written below, reflect the beauty of what they wrote.
There is a beautiful solution,
That I now know,
I pray that in my demeanour,
It does always show;
I saw it on my first day.
When I did arrive,
The people at that meeting,
Were very positively alive.
They had found a solution,
One common to all,
All they wanted to do was help me,
Stand sober, happy and tall;
They were armed with the facts,
They had been where I had been,
They had reached their rock bottom,
And had their own horrors seen.
We had similar stories,
What had started as a friend,
Later caused problems,
And despair without end;
It had become a problem,
For years it gave me pain,
I often tried to stop,
And a new life gain.
I had tried many times,
But something would arise,
And before I knew it I was drinking,
I wasn’t very wise;
My will-power was great,
But not when it came to drink,
Something would happen,
And I was drunk before I could think.
I knew trouble would ensue,
If I started drinking again,
Yet these thoughts were pushed to one side,
I couldn’t remember the pain;
Many a time I made resolutions,
A new pledge make,
Yet a short time later,
A drink I would take.
Often a resolution would be made,
Then the thought would appear,
“It won’t burn me this time,”
Let’s just have a beer;
One would lead to another,
Despair would set in,
Why did I start,
Why did I begin.
But in AA there is a solution,
It is a spiritual one,
With lots of simple suggestions,
For a life of sobriety and fun;
We have to review our lives,
With complete and utter honesty,
And be willing to make amends,
If a wrong we do notice or see.
In AA we can begin a new life,
One that’s completely free,
By doing daily spiritual suggestions,
That give peace and serenity;
This then is the solution,
Spirituality is the core,
To find a God in our life,
One whom we can love and adore.
CHAPTER 3 – MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM
This chapter continues talking about us, and how and why we drank. It talks about the things we have often done to try and stop drinking. It also shows that no matter what our resolve, something would happen that would lead us to picking up a drink, allowing alcoholic insanity to return. It does, however, talk about the solution, and contain the magic sentence, “Then they outlined the spiritual answer and programme of action which a hundred of them had followed successfully.” (Page 42 of the Big Book.)
It wasn’t my ambition,
To come to AA,
But pain forced me through the door,
There was no other way;
I couldn’t stop drinking,
I had no other choice,
I phoned the AA office,
And heard a pleasant voice.
I was given details,
Of a lunch-time meeting,
When I arrived,
I got a lovely greeting;
People seemed to know about me,
They had been where I had been,
But now they lived soberly,
And did happily dream.
We went for tea after,
Our stories were virtually the same,
They had been sober a long time,
Life for them was a new ball game;
They had had periods of not drinking,
Before they came to AA,
But only by following the steps,
Had they been happily sober for many a day.
They had tried self-knowledge,
They had looked at all the facts,
But then something would upset them,
And they thought a drink would help them relax;
The Big Book describes this insanity,
Or the ability to think straight,
Life would become heavy,
And a drink they would take.
They use the example of the jay-walker,
Which at first I thought was absurd,
But now when I read it,
I agree with every word;
For weren’t we all jay-walkers,
Over the years we got worse,
But it wouldn’t prevent us drinking,
It was like we had a curse.
With all my self-knowledge,
Eventually I couldn’t stop,
Then I sought out AA,
And into a meeting did hop;
I found there a solution,
But I had to admit I was completely beat,
There was no going back,
Trial drinking I could not repeat.
The God given solution was outlined,
A positive programme of action,
They said if I did these things,
I would get a positive reaction;
Even from that first day,
I had the feeling I’d be all right,
If I just put AA first,
I’d remain happy, sober and bright.
It has brought me a new way of life,
More useful than the life I lived before,
Something called my spirit has been charged,
It now wants to magnificently soar;
My old manner of life was not a bad one,
But I would not go back to it now,
For AA has given me peace and serenity,
To describe it, I can only say wow.
WE AGNOSTICS – CHAPTER FOUR.
This chapter is sometimes described as the greatest chapter of the greatest book ever written. It talks about us and our necessity to find a power greater than ourselves to stop our drinking. It gives fantastic advice on how to achieve this. It has so many beautiful sentences including these from Page 47, “We needed to ask ourselves but one short question. “Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself? As soon as a man can say that he does believe, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on his way.”
‘We agnostics,’
A word that used to describe me,
I thought I knew it all,
But I was missing ‘Thee’;
I didn’t know AA was spiritual,
When I did arrive,
But I had to follow the programme of action,
If I was to remain alive.
‘You may be suffering from an illness’,
It says on Page forty-four,
‘Which only a spiritual experience will conquer’,
To help your spirit live and soar;
For if you are powerless over alcohol,
You’ll need to find a Higher Power,
Something that’s with you,
Every second of every hour.
‘Lack of power, that was our dilemma’,
It says on Page forty-five,
We had to find a power greater than ourselves,
If we were to remain happily alive;
“Well that’s exactly what this book is about,” (Page 45)
It’s why it was wrote,
Every word in it divine,
From it we often quote.
For the reason I am alive today,
Is the information it does contain,
Instructions that not only keep me sober,
But also happy and sane;
Thank God it was written,
For without it I’d be dead,
A screaming painful death,
Until the last breath from my head.
Pain made it easy,
To change my way of thinking,
And find a Higher Power,
To stop my stupid drinking;
The word God used to upset me,
But it doesn’t any more,
For AA allows me to find,
A God I now adore.
The book on Page forty-seven asks,
‘Am I even willing to believe’,
It needs to be answered positively,
For your old drinking habits to leave;
If you are able to answer yes,
The book says your on your way,
To a life of sober living,
With God’s love growing day by day.
‘Faced with alcoholic destruction,’
Mentioned on Page forty-eight,
Made me open-minded,
Allowing God to be my mate;
Pain was a great persuader,
It made me reasonable,
To allow God to enter my life,
To make it sober and stable.
The beautiful presence of God,
I am now able to say,
Is the most important fact in my life,
In every wonderful way;
I would have smiled at such a sally,
When I tried to do life on my own,
But through AA and lovely God,
A wonderful life I’ve been shown.
CHAPTER FIVE – HOW IT WORKS
The beautiful chapter that sets out the 12 steps, and then goes on to describe in beautiful detail, steps three and four. What a wonderful title for a chapter. It is so positive. It is setting out what the origins members did to get and stay sober. I am one of many millions who followed their path, and can say the steps are what you need to do to get and stay sober. Doing the steps, with the guidance of a sponsor, is ‘HOW IT WORKS.’
How it works,
The title of chapter five,
The steps we need to do are shown,
To become spiritually alive;
Twelve wonderful steps,
Just 200 words,
To repair a damaged spirit,
So simple it seems absurd.
I had never heard of them,
Before I did arrive,
But doing them,
Brought me spiritually alive;
Thank you for our Big Book,
For every single page,
By doing the steps we happily grow,
We no longer shout or rage.
On Page 63 it says,
We were now at Step Tree,
And doing this lovely step,
Certainly increased me glee;
I went to my sponsor’s house,
And we looked at steps one, two, three,
The start of the process,
That allows us to be alcohol free.
We then got on our knees,
To say the step three prayer,
I’ve said it every day since,
It’s a spiritual tool to remove care;
Those beautiful magical words starting,
“God I offer myself to Thee,”
Helping smash the ego,
Helping setting me free.
Very soon thereafter,
I started to do step four,
To free me from the bondage of self,
To allow my spirit to soar;
My sponsor gave me a list of my character defects,
He said I had in all forteen,
And writing this step in three columns,
Allows me to continue to happily dream.
It allowed me to see realistically,
That no matter what had occurred,
It was how I reacted to it,
That caused me to drink and act absurd;
It didn’t really matter,
What the event or situation,
It was me defects of character,
That caused me to drink without hesitation.
My pride and self-pity,
And twelve defects more,
Caused me to be unhappy,
And my mind to race and roar;
Being shown this beautiful step,
Allowed me to look back at my past,
Allowed me to have control of events,
And not to pick up a glass.
It allowed my mind to be clean,
Allowing me to happily dream,
It allowed me to realise my spirit,
And be part of the human team;
Thank you lovely God,
For giving me this new chance,
Please allow me to be sober,
So that other lives I can enhance.
CHAPTER SIX – INTO ACTION.
Into action, how wonderful, the chapter that deals with steps five, to eleven. It gives more details on what we have to do, all part of the wonderful AA 12 step spiritual programme of recovery. AA only came about in the late 1930′s, when for the first time man found a solution to the disease known as alcoholism. Previous generations, had tried, but it was only with the start of AA, that a wonderful simple common solution became available. This chapter talks about the action required for steps 5 to 11, and what has to be done. I can only say that as one of the many millions who have followed it’s guidelines, with the benefit of a sponsor, that by doing the steps, and by taking certain actions, it does beautifully, and wonderfully work.
The chapter “Into action,”
Lists things that have to be done,
To complete our spiritual programme,
To have a life of sobriety and fun;
It’s there in black and white,
The steps to put you right,
Very simple spiritual advice,
To make your spirit shine happy, healthy and bright.
The chapter starts with step five,
Which I never thought I’d do,
But by doing it,
A new life came into view;
It has to be done,
For as it says on Page seventy-two,
Avoiding this humbling step,
Could be the ruin of you.
Then steps six and seven,
Only three short paragraphs,
Allowing us to spiritually grow,
And enjoy many a sober laugh;
They ask for defects of character to be removed,
Things I never realised were there,
Getting ride of my difficulties,
And easing many a care.
Then making necessary amends,
By doing steps eight and nine,
Part of the spiritual recovery programme,
To make our relationships fine;
To go to members of our family,
To see a friend or even someone who was a foe,
Allows the soul to glisten,
The spirit to grow and glow.
Then on to step ten,
Pages that give such great advice,
The words of the ages,
The wisdom of the wise;
On Page eighty-five is written,
We’re given a daily reprieve,
“Contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition,”
So this spiritual healing need never leave.
“We have not even sworn off,”
Is mentioned on the same page,
And by doing daily spiritual actions,
We need no longer drunkenly rage;
It is truly remarkable,
I can testify to it’s strength and might,
Through sponsorship and the Big Book,
I have been shown a sober light.
Finally step eleven,
Mentions prayer and meditation,
Things I regularly do now,
Often praying for the whole of creation;
This step also mentions,
A conscious contact with God,
Something I now think is wonderful,
Something that I once thought very odd.
These steps all involve action,
That’s what this chapter talks about,
Something that I now feel is wonderful,
Something about which I want to happily shout;
So much great advice is given,
All in our wonderful Big Book,
All I can say to everyone,
Is do not delay give it a look.
CHAPTER SEVEN – WORKING WITH OTHERS>
AA is free, and from the start I was given beautiful free help and free beautiful spiritual advice. This has meant that not only have I not had a drink for over seventeen years, but it has also been the best period of my life. All the help I’ve been given, had been freely given. AA is a spiritual programme of recovery, and a definition of spirituality, is that it has to be free. This is at the heart of AA. I was given fantastic free help from my first day, still am given it, and all I have to do is to try to pass it on to others, by trying to help them, and this is what chapter twelve is all about.
“Working with others,”
What a pleasure,
To pass on the gift,
Of our beautiful spiritual treasure;
Freely passing on,
What was freely given to me,
Not only wonderful sobriety,
But also a life of health and glee.
From when I arrived,
People worked with me,
I was given a cup of tea,
And the gift of sobriety;
We went to a Cafe after,
For ‘the meeting after the meeting,’
I was very well looked after,
I was given a wonderful greeting.
It is our twelfth step,
To carry our message to others,
For people who have our problem,
People who are our friends and brothers;
The people helping me,
Had also been given a great welcome,
And through following spiritual principles,
Sober they had happily become.
The people I met knew my problem,
Which over the years had grown,
Only death awaited me,
My destruction I was daily been shown;
But AA offers a solution,
Of a spiritual kind,
Allowing us not only to be sober,
But to have a peaceful happy mind.
These people knew all about me,
They had been where I had been,
They had reached the depths of despair,
They had had many a horrendous dream;
But they offered a solution,
One which I quickly did grasp,
All they wanted to do was help me,
That is all they did ask.
They spoke of alcoholism as an illness,
A fateful malady,
It didn’t take much to convince me,
From my own experience this I could feel and see;
But now they all looked so well,
They talked about their experience,
They said if I did the same things,
A sober life I could live and enhance.
They said they only wanted to help me,
By passing on what they had been shown,
By doing simple spiritual things,
Into a sober life they had grown;
At first it seemed strange,
But I had to grasp at any straw,
I started to do what they suggested,
And on a new Power I started to draw.
Now many years later,
I still try to pass on this beautiful gift,
To help others be sober and healthy,
And their spirits from alcoholic lift;
It is something I do with gratitude,
Something I do with glee,
It’s the very least I can do,
For a gift given so freely to me.
CHAPTER EIGHT – TO WIVES.
This chapter was written by Bill, because he was the person who had the spiritual experience, and because he also had the foresight, to get the book up and running. When AA started it was nearly all men, but from the start the wives of those involved would also be getting together to meet. This eventually led to the start of our sister Fellowship, Al-anon. What a fantastic fellowship both are. As time went on more and more women started to come to AA because of their own drinking problems, and the husbands started to go to Al-anon. Thus the chapter ‘To Wives,’ called also be called “To Husbands, To Boyfriends, To Girlfriends, To Partners,” for it gives advice on how to deal with the newly sober person, and how beneficial to all concerned, it is to live on a spiritual basis. I am so grateful to AA, and daily I say thank-you to Bill, for allowing my mind to be happy and still,and for allowing me to ask God to surrender my will.
Chapter eight,
Entitled ‘To Wives,’
Part of our beautiful Big Book,
The book that saves lives;
But this chapter could also be called,
To husbands or to friends,
For the spiritual truths within,
Contain information whose truth never ends.
It starts by talking about different stages,
And gives four categories of use,
No matter to which one you belong,
We needed to control our drinking abuse;
This is best done spiritually,
By practising spiritual principles in all our affairs,
And by doing this we deal with resentments,
And reduce our cares and fears.
When the Big book was written,
The Fellowship was nearly all men,
Who had upset their wives,
Wonderful brilliant women;
Then as AA expanded,
Women in their own right started to appear,
Bringing their husbands,
Who had also shed many a tear.
But spiritual truths are universal,
This we learn in AA,
And doing them keeps us sober,
Each wonderful, beautiful day;
They apply equally to husbands and wives,
No matter what their age , philosophy or creed,
By living a spiritual life,
You will always happily succeed.
It says on Page one hundred and twenty,
Why not place the problem in God’s hands,
Something I could never admit existed,
Wasn’t I the silly arrogant man;
But AA gives the freedom,
To choose a God of our own concept,
This very beautiful simple idea,
Made the God idea very easy to accept.
I now realise that all my pain was necessary,
For it opened me up to the idea of God,
Something I used to rebel against,
Actions that I now realise were weird and odd;
Page one hundred and sixteen mentions,
“How much better life is when lived on a spiritual plane,”
I now readily agree with this,
For before AA my life was one of fear, unhappiness and pain.
A spiritual life is not just a theory,
It helps to ease the journey of life,
For doing life on our own,
Only leads to pain and strife;
But pain can lead to wonderful AA,
Where we find we are not apart,
We find a fantastic Fellowship,
That allows us to reveal the love of God in our heart.
The spiritual life we are shown,
Is not exclusive to AA,
But we certainly have to live it,
Otherwise we drink and go astray;
We find that a spiritual life works not only for wives,
But husbands, children, and friends,
By being humble before Him or Her,
His love He constantly sends.
CHAPTER NINE – THE FAMILY AFTERWARDS.
The chapter describing what happens when Dad starts to be dry. It talks about some of the obstacles a family will meet, and how it is often best not to rush things, and yet of course the family can be impatient and wants things to return to ‘normal.’ The chapter does stress the spiritual life, and how this should be put first. How the ex-problem drinker must always try to help others, if he wants to retain his sobriety. How to approach this new life, may best be described by two sentences from the Big Book, one on Page 127, and the other on page 130.
Page 127, “For us, material well-being always followed spiritual progress,” and Page 130,“We have found nothing incompatible between a powerful spiritual experience and a life of sane and happy usefulness.”
Alcoholism effects not just the individual,
But also friends and family,
And this chapter describes the solution,
That can bring to all parties glee;
For there is also a sister Fellowship,
It is called Al-anon,
Where people also meet,
To help each other spiritually along.
It started at the same time,
For when Bill and Bob got together,
The wives would also meet,
To help each other over sticky weather;
Having common ground,
A sister Fellowship they found,
To the despair of their drinking connection,
They were no longer bound.
For we have a common past,
But also now a common solution,
It is a spiritual one,
God willing there’s never any dilution;
We talk about our common experience,
And the horrors that have gone before,
And how the benefit of a spiritual life,
Allow our spirits to soar.
There are a lot of spiritual gems,
In this lovely chapter,
Things to keep us sober,
And not ourselves batter;
For instance Page 133 says,
“We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous and free.”
And following spiritual principles,
Allows this to be.
Page 133 also says,
“We cannot subscribe to the belief that this life is a vale of tears,”
And through sponsorship, steps and service,
We allay all our troubles and fears;
“Avoid then the deliberate manufacture of misery,
But if trouble comes,”
Use the spiritual life,
To remain with God and others as chums.
“If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our existence,”
It says on Page 132,
And following AA’s spiritual principles,
Allows joy and fun to come into view;
“We also absolutely insist on enjoying life,”
Is also mentioned on the same page,
And again by following AA’s spiritual principles,
We need no longer drink or rage.
It talks about health,
And how this does improve,
It might not happen overnight,
But it does if you get into the AA grove;
“We who have recovered from a serious condition,
Are miracles of mental health,” (P 133)
For steps, service and sponsorship,
Leads to the greatest spiritual wealth.
To conclude about this chapter,
Called ‘The Family Afterward,’
Leading a spiritual life,
Does lead to untold reward;
It concludes with three sayings, ‘First Things First,’
Live and Let Live,’
‘Easy Does It,’ and may I add,
Do constantly work and forgive.
CHAPTER TEN – TO EMPLOYERS.
This chapter to employers, is numbered ten, like all the other chapters, we should read it, again and again, and again.The only chapter in the Big Book, not written by Bill. It gives lots of practical advice. The core of our programme, is that we are given “a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.” (Page 85.) By dong this, we are able to start a great relationship with a new employer, God, which then allows us to be sober daily, and then to have a new successful relationship, with family, friends and employers.
To Employers,
The title of Chapter Ten,
Part of the wonderful Big Book,
Which we should read, again and again, and again;
It contains lots of wisdom,
All of it wise,
And helps us on our path,
And the spiritual awakening realise.
“We had a new employer,”
It says on Page 63,
And following the steps and traditions,
Leads us to a life of sobriety;
Because this new employer,
Will never let you down,
He/She is always there to help,
And remove many a frown.
“He provided what we needed,
if we kept close to Him,” (Page 63.)
And He/She not only keeps us sober,
But provides us with lots of energy and vim;
The book does also tell,
We must perform His work well,
We need no longer swear or shout,
Or at God or our employer yell.
Established on such a footing, it also says,
We become less interested in our little plans and ideas,
Each day I thank God I came to AA,
And for realising the warning signs;
More and more we became interested
In seeing what we could contribute to life, (P63)
Of trying to help others,
Overcome sickness and strife.
As we felt new power flow in,
As we enjoyed peace of mind, (P63)
We thanked God constantly,
For being so loving and kind;
As we discovered we could face life successfully,
As we became conscious of his presence, (p63.)
We came to enjoy the beauty of God,
His beautiful spiritual essence.
Page 63 also says,
We began to lose our fear,
We began to realise God’s beauty
And shed many a happy tear.;
We began to realise God’s love,
We were reborn, (P63)
A new spiritual life had started,
We had a new beautiful dawn.
It also says on Page 143,
“we have to place recovery first,”
We have to do this,
To prevent us having a thirst;
For without recovery,
We would have lost both home and business,
This seemed strange at first,
But now it makes complete and utter sense.
So to all employers,
To all family and friends,
By putting our spiritual life first,
Recovery never ends;
For we are granted a daily reprieve,
Given to us by lovely God,
Provided we maintain our spiritual condition,
That no longer seems strange or odd.
CHAPTER ELEVEN – A VISION FOR YOU.
This is the title of our last chapter, chapter eleven. It strives to give an indication of what we should aim for with our new sober life. It assumes that the lovely broken people coming to AA are doing the steps with the guidance of a sponsor, and are on starting a new relationship with God. It’s final paragraph on Page 164, often read at meetings, ask us to, “Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of happy Destiny. May God bless you and keep you – until then.”
Chapter eleven,
“A Vision For You,”
Things we can aspire to,
Things we can aim to do;
Our lovely last chapter,
God willing the steps have been done,
Describes what can we look forward to,
Now we’re in the spiritual sun.
It talks bout what it was like,
And how a new Fellowship we found,
That allows us to be sober,
Our spirits happy and sound;
It talks about making new friends,
In our own community,
Passing on our sober message,
Helping them to be alcohol free.
“The age of miracles is still with us,”
It says on Page 153,
For not only are we sober,
God’s love fills us with glee;
“Our own recovery proves that,”
That we were able to change,
And now with God’s love,
Through the world we happily range.
We have found release.
From care, boredom and worry,
Our minds have started to be calm,
No longer screaming or in a hurry;
Our imagination is fired,
“Life will mean something at last,”
As we help others always,
To never again pick up a glass.
“The most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead,”
This I certainly found to be true,
For now I have the beauty of God’s love with me,
In all that I think of or do;
My life is not boring or glum,
For everyone now is my chum,
This lad who was on the drunken shelf,
Is now able to “Love Thy neighbour as Thyself.”
“Both saw that they must keep spiritually active,“
It says on page 156,
And I very gratefully do,
To retain my sober spiritual fix;
I do daily spiritual suggestions,
Including morning and night on my knees,
Thanking lovely God for sobriety,
And asking may I help others please.
“These men had found something new in life,”
It says on beautiful Page 159,
And by doing spiritual things daily,
They radiate eternal sunshine;
“It was transcended by the happiness they found,”
It also does say,
“By giving themselves for others,”
Every second of the day.
“Abandon yourself to God,”
It says on page 164,
Doing things constantly for others,
Allows your spirits to soar;
So “Give freely of what you find and join us,”
On the “Road of Happy Destiny,”
Throw away your old life,
Do the steps and fill yourself with glee.
