Wisdom Of The Rooms - 2021

[bluidkiti]

June 7

Quote of the Week

"Going to meetings is like taking aspirin before a headache."

I was reminded of how true this saying is just the other day. I had been really sick for a week—I mean in-bed sick. As such, I hadn’t been to a meeting all week. This is unheard of for me, as three meetings a week is my usual minimum, while four to five is more common. So there I was at my local Rite-Aid pharmacy, staring down at the cough syrups, when all of the sudden I saw one that said “Alcohol-free.” So that’s the one I automatically chose, right? Not at all!

You see, because I hadn’t been to a meeting in a week, my keen alcoholic mind was thinking again. And without my conscious permission, it was arguing with me as to why the nonalcoholic version obviously couldn’t be as good as the one with alcohol. In a flash it had me convinced that it must be the watered-down version, and that it didn’t have as much of the active ingredients in it. And without the alcohol, I wouldn’t even get the rest I so desperately needed to get better. I was sold. . . .

As my hand reached down to get the “right cough syrup,” a tiny, faraway, twelve-year-sober voice whispered, “That might not be such a good idea.” I almost didn’t hear it, but its truth was powerful. I snapped out of it, and in a moment of clarity I grabbed the alcohol-free one and quickly got out of there. Now I’m pretty sure that if I had been to my regular meetings that week, the choice would have been much easier. It just goes to show that if you don’t want a (major!) headache, then keep taking your aspirin regularly.