Wisdom Of The Rooms - 2020

[bluidkiti]

May 25

Quote of the Week

"Sit down, shut up, and listen."

When I was brand-new to the program, I had a lot to share. I liked going to participation meetings because I thought you needed to hear what I thought I knew about drinking, and even about regaining control. I didn’t buy that alcoholism was a disease, and I harbored the belief that as soon as I got things settled down, I could probably resume drinking more moderately. Finally, my sponsor pulled me aside and gave me a suggestion.

He told me, as nicely as he could, that for the time being I might want to listen more, rather than share. He suggested that the people in the rooms could do something I never could—stay sober and happy for many years. He told me that if I wanted what they had, then perhaps I should listen to their experience and take the actions they took. He encouraged me to share my thoughts and feelings with him, one on one, but at meetings he essentially suggested I sit down, shut up, and listen.

Once I became willing to take things in, I started making better progress in my recovery. As I began working the Steps, I found I really needed the experience, strength, and hope I heard from others in meetings. After a while, I began sharing again, but I was taught to only share my experience on a topic, not my opinion. By following the early direction I was given, I have been granted the gift of recovery. And it all started by sitting down, shutting up, and listening.