To the Chevra,
For those of you who have come "on board" the BBL&LSG (Big Book Lunch & Learn Study Group) Cruise Ship during the first three days of our Journey, I want to express my appreciation and admiration for your courage and commitment. I know it's very tough joining a new Fellowship of Men, each a stranger to the other, and all of us unsure if we feel totally safe.
This feeling is totally understandable and it fits quite well with the Cruise Ship analogy. I remember taking a cruise for the first time and got quite nervous when one of the first things they did was conduct an emergency drill. All of the passengers had to learn careful directions what to do, where to go and how to find your life preserver - all for the possibility that the ship might sink!!
And I thought that I paid big bucks to go on a vacation that was promoted as relaxing and luxurious. I guarantee you that when I woke up the next morning and saw that we were out in the middle of the ocean and there wasn't a drop of land in sight anywhere, I was beginning to wonder what had I gotten myself into. You can be sure that I knew exactly where my life preserver was and the route I needed to run to get to the escape boats.
In our discussion today, we discussed the ATTITUDE one must have to find success and recovery in the Program. Those who follow the history of the 12 Step AA Program recognize that the individual most likely to succeed in the Program and find recovery is the one who has hit rock bottom and has lost it all.
Chas V'Shalom though, that we should hit rock bottom. But ask yourself, "how really far away am I from rock bottom?" Just think how one small step, or one tiny mess up and how your world could come crashing in. Ask yourself "what would my life be like IF my spouse found out about my addiction or my kids or my boss or community? How quickly could my life end up in a nightmare, with divorce, kids that hated me, a community that rejected me?"
If your first response to my question is "how quickly can I get myself out of the Group and back into my isolation and seclusion", then you know that your attitude is pulling you in the wrong direction. INSTEAD, you should take my questions and think seriously, "where am I headed?" And "how comfortable have I become in my addiction that I think that I'm safe and in control?"
That's why in our call today, I asked everyone to now imagine that our Cruise Ship is the Titanic. You can be sure that all of the passenger that embarked on the Titanic paid a huge sum and were confident that they had boarded an "unsinkable Ship". Of course, we all know the rest of the Story.
The message of the Titanic is that we need to treat our addiction like a sinking ship and that MY LIFE DEPENDS ON THE 12 STEP PROGRAM! And only through a serious commitment to learning and working the Steps, will I find recovery and a life full of contentment, peace and connectedness to G-d, family, and to the precious Neshama that Hashem placed inside me.
YOU are your Neshama's LIFE PRESERVER. It's up to you to save it - BEFORE you hit rock bottom. (See Chizuk e-mail #441 on this page for more about "Hitting Bottom while Still on Top")
So please keep coming back, because YOU'RE WORTH IT!
Your friend,
Duvid Chaim