One Day at a Time in Al-Anon:
Some of us are still enduring the agonies of living with active alcoholism. We wonder why the alcoholic cannot realize what his drinking is doing to the family. We doubt that he cares. If he did, we think, how could he behave in this irrational way?
In Al-Anon we learn that this is a false conclusion; we cannot know how terribly he suffers from guilt at the hurt he inflicts. His only way of escape from this guilt is to drink again.
Our way to help him is to realize how sick he is and how he himself is hurt by the results of his compulsion. Reproaches and tears only make matters worse. We can have patience and compassion without being a crutch, so he may gain the strength to seek help for himself.
Today’s Reminder:
If we say to ourselves, “How long, oh Lord, how long?” we are wallowing in self-pity. We have at our command the means of climbing out of the pit we are in if we will but use them.
“…courage to change the things we can.”