Quote Originally Posted by mick2360 View Post
There's a lot to be said for taking what you can and leaving the rest; except that alcoholics and addicts are notoriously willful men and women. It took me awhile to humble myself enough to put myself under the guidance of another person who had been successful in achieving sobriety. Mustering up that level of trust was difficult, just not as difficult as dealing with the wreckage caused by my ongoing drinking.

Mick, your point about alcoholics and addicts being notoriously willful is more accurate than what I said, and right on the money.

Many alcoholics will not humble themselves to the advice of complete strangers. They say the first thing we should do when hitting a meeting is shut up and listen. Alcoholics who want help need to realize that the advice being given to them comes from not from theory, but from the school of hard knocks.

So my advice about taking what you want and leaving the rest came from that other site where G started that thread. Once in a while, someone would come in and slam the thread, or AA, because they felt we were brainwashed, or they didn't agree with the principles and practices of AA., or the mention of God, etc, etc

Some would say those people need to suffer more before they are ready to listen. If they're still arguing with people who have years of sobriety, maybe they arent ready? That's where the shades of grey come in. I believe everyone deserves a second chance to repair their lives. Some don't see it as a chance, they come in kicking and screaming.

Bottom line, I agree they should listen to everything they're told, but how do you deal with people who are still active and negative on 90% of the program, or negative on it because they hear "God" mentioned too much? I feel they should come in anyway and look around, even if they aren't ready. You never know what will rub off, or when someone will come back and say - "Ya know, that thing you were talking about just hit me, now I understand..."