Suit up; Show up; Sit up; Shut up
In today’s touchy feely atmosphere of “Don’t say anything to hurt anyone so they don’t end up with wounded egos,” some folks take exception to the above advice to newcomers. “Let them talk and lead meetings” they say, “Pretend that the person with the most sobriety was the one who got up first this morning,” “Act like a slip is no big deal and that relapse is a part of recovery.” Well nonsense. We didn’t get to a 12 step program because we knew so much and we didn’t get here because we have low or high self-esteem, either! We got here because we are sick in body, mind, and spirit. If low self-esteem and lack of self-knowledge was the cause of our woes, then the Al-Anons, Nar-Anons, and CoDAs would have cured us! They certainly tried hard enough! The best advice I got when I came in was to get ready for a meeting by suiting up, stick with the winners by showing up, listen and pay attention by siting up, and turn my self-will off so I could learn by shutting up.
That’s how she can get to be an Old-timer!
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