DRINKING ALCOHOL TAUGHT ME HOW TO FLY
THEN IT TOOK AWAY THE SKY

Thursday, February 25, 2010

LIFE LINE

 
LIFELINE

 LIFELINE

My father was sightless from the age of 4-5, and became a mute at age 50.  He was a farmer, who with my mother spent some of their winters visiting us in sunny, warm (Yeah...right--grin!) Naples, FL.

Deaf-Blind Pop just loved, REALLY loved to swim in the Gulf of Mexico.  He could tell by the sun and the breeze which way was the shore--when he swam out to a sandbar.  One time he swam out there, the sun hid itself, and the breeze decided a siesta was a good idea. So he determined which way to swim, and he wrongly chose to swim west, toward Corpus Christi, TX...800 miles across the Gulf.

Someone did swim out there finally...but nobody including himself knew he was "in trouble".  One of my sisters, visiting for a week, bought a 500-foot boat-towing line at a marina, and from that day, Pop was tethered to my mother who sat in a chair on the beach collecting coquina for soup-making.  And so whenever Pop wanted to swim back to shore, he just followed his lifeline.

I make the analogy here of a Peep swimming around in the life of an alcoholic.  There is no way to discover the direction for the shore of sobriety.  It just does never occur to the Alkie, that if he doesn't take that first drink, he will never, NEVER get drunk.  Somehow, an outside force (Higher Power?  God!?) intervenes in any number of human ways/forms. The lifeline of Alcoholics Anonymous is hooked onto his belt at first.  The Steps, which he learns about from a sponsor, become a way of life which he works at following...never perfectly.

Eventually--it happened to me--that lifeline of sobriety in AA became wrapped around his heart, and a love which cannot be expressed in words, grew (slowly in my case).  Only in actions, behaviors, mistakes, amends, a knowledge of self, a willingness to grow along spiritual lines, and helping others to live God's Will, can I show my regard, my respect for, my LOVE of this program which has given me an extra 35 years to live.

Peeps, let us stay sober and help one another today.  Let us please not be spiteful.  But let us in forgiveness, grow in the grace of humility...and SOBRIETY!  Allow me please to lovingly try to understand those who show disagreement with me, and just Let Go and Let God!



Photo in Deviant Art:   life_lines_by_werol.jpg

17 comments:

Shadow said...

its learning all these little 'tricks' that keep us sober... thank you steve!

Sherry said...

What a sweet story, great analogy and beautiful picture! Have a wonderful day!

JStar said...

This is an inspiring piece! I wish my brother could take that life line to sobriety....He has given up

Akannie said...

HAH!

I knew you couldn't stay away...I'm so glad to see you back, and this is a perfect blog for me to read this morning. A couple of days ago, I was feeling adrift...and I needed this lifeline reminder...

Love you!!

Jess Mistress of Mischief said...

Oh how wonderful and true this is! I love these Golden nuggets of wisdom!

One Prayer Girl said...

I love this blog dear heart. The way in which the ideas flow makes it a very powerful statement about recovery. Beautifully written.

Love you,
PG

Ed G. said...

Love the metaphor.

Blessings and aloha...

Unknown said...

Your story is why I keep coming back to recovery (as in AA and Alanon) blogs. That love, I know. The miracles I know. Adrift..yep I know that too. I stay close these days, to the shore. It is safer and serener (word?) for me.

Love you to Stevio--

Namaste

Wait. What? said...

Great analogy Steve!

Have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

So well written, so on point, so right!

Secretia

Dulçe ♥ said...

Thank those 35vyears we've been able to have the great pleasure to meet the sweetest of peeps...

Peace

Christine Macdonald said...

You are such an inspiration. Well done, my love.

xxoo

Syd said...

I think that it's good for me to pray for those with whom I have a misunderstanding, that I may come to love them as God does.

Anonymous said...

What an inspiring story!!!
God's will is still amazing to me. It's pure and clean and so not what the world is.
Blessings Bro!

Enchanted Oak said...

I'm really pleased I stopped by here this morning and found this tale of redemption in Alcoholics Anonymous.

fairyform said...

It is always the case that reaching the end of the rope is the signal that it's time we let Him work His will into our lives.

Nevine Sultan said...

Nothing to disagree about, Steve. And that was a touching story about your father that looped everything right into place. Have a wonderful weekend, Steveroni!

Nevine