I’m grateful for a beautiful sunrise. I’m grateful for Bach cello concertos. I’m grateful for the way music can change my mood. I’m grateful for winks from the universe. I’m grateful for what’s in front of me. I’m grateful to be sober today.
That’s how Sunday started over here. Shortly after I took that picture, I made coffee and decided that I’d listen to the Bach Cello Concertos. Yo-Yo Ma made them famous, but I prefer an older recording of Pablo Casals playing them. This has been a pretty busy week with lots of developments here at Sober HQ. Of course, we launched a new feature “And Now a Word From Your Sponsor,” and put out the second volume of “Growing Pains: Sober Girls Edition,” and the Liner Notes for Episode 21 of Breakfast with an Alcoholic.
Whew, I knew there was a reason I’m dragging a little bit this morning. I’m sorry to say that we’re not releasing a new episode of Breakfast with an Alcoholic this week. But we’ll have another brand new episode for you next week. If you are really Jones-ing for an episode, how about a throwback to one of the early and great episodes of Breakfast with an Alcoholic? Chris H. survived, prison, homelessness, even being shot in the face to become a truly great. sober person. This is definitely worth a listen:
We had an actual staff meeting here at Sober HQ this week.1 It's all pretty exciting stuff and someone asked what our organizing principle ought to be. Fortunately, someone has already crafted the perfect mission statement for us:
Each Alcoholics Anonymous group ought to be a spiritual entity having but one primary purpose—that of carrying its message to the alcoholic who still suffers
The Twelve Traditions [The Long Form]
So, that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re big believers in AA because it’s worked for us and that’s what we want to share with as many people as we can: That there is a solution. Thanks to Jane, we've been experimenting over on Instagram and actually launched on TikTok, want to see what we’ve come up with so far?2
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See what I mean? There’s a lot going on and we’re not only launching on other social platforms, we’re going to be adding more video and audio elements to what we’re doing here, all with the aim of finding more ways to spread the word and share what we’ve so freely been given. We’re all big believers in the power of Alcoholics Anonymous, but think that it’s still too inaccessible, there’s not enough information and that there is still too much stigma. Part of that is on purpose and an outgrowth of the focus on anonymity. I think the history of AA is fascinating and there has always been a tension between the “Anonymous View” and what I’m going to call the “Bill W. View.”
Bill had a streak of the revivalist in him and he sincerely, truly believed he had found the magic elixir that could not only help alcoholics recover, but could transform society.3 In his Grapevine writings, which are collected in "The Language of the Heart," Bill was pretty emphatic about the moral imperative of reaching as many alcoholics as possible:
How…could the “go slow boys” sleep nights…when within gunshot of where we sat were perhaps hundreds who could get well if only they knew what we knew. And did alcoholics in California have to wait for relief to get there by word of mouth only?
The Language of the Heart, p. 12
The “Go-Slow Boys” had argued that
[T]he man of Galilee had no press agent, no newspapers, no pamphlets, no books—nothing but word of mouth to carry the spirit from person to person, from group to group.
The Language of the Heart, p. 11
Therefore, members of AA should remain anonymous and the organization's publicity was to be based only on attraction rather than promotion and should be spread primarily by word-of-mouth. The other argument advanced for a less aggressive promotional and media posture was the fear of being overwhelmed by inquiries from alcoholics needing help.
I think those are two dumb arguments. First, the “Man from Galilee” lived at a time when there weren’t many books, newspapers or pamphlets. I’m guessing that a guy who enlisted a bunch of disciples to help spread the Word to people wherever he found them, including some pretty big crowds,4 would probably have welcomed tools like that, since, after all, The Big Guy had sent him there to spread the Word. I guess I should also point out that the “Go Slow Boys” probably learned most of what they knew about the “Man from Galilee” from a pretty popular book. And the fear of being overwhelmed by requests for help from sick and suffering and dying alcoholics? Isn’t that the same thing as pulling up the ladder once you’ve made it to safety? Seriously, WWJD?
I’m with Bill W: More is better I will always respect other people’s choices about anonymity and confidentiality and the Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, but I think there should be a lot more talking about this. People’s eyebrows shouldn’t go up when they hear the word “alcoholic” at the next table. The more we talk about this and explain what it is and what it isn’t, how it works on a practical basis, and show that there is a way out, well, I have a hard time seeing what the downside is. Also, like Bill W., this alcoholic has realized that all of the self-directed change and self-discovery in the world is not enough to keep him sober. I need to work with other alcoholics and spread the word to stay sober.
So, if you wondered, that’s what we’re doing here. I have some pretty crazy notions and do feel like I’m getting a little more insane every day and that’s because every day I feel a little more certain that this is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. So, until I get the Word to stop…
Thanks for Letting Me Share
It was on Zoom, which makes it even more official.
These walks reflect actual walks and videos taken by Jane.
Bill’s aim was this: “A brand new world with ex-drunks running it.” The Language of the Heart, p. 10.
He even fed them when necessary, sometimes even including wine.
Woo, you’re all on fire!
Stop, drop and roll.