One beautiful day, a man sat under a tree, not noticing it was full of pigeons. Shortly thereafter, the pigeons did what pigeons do best. The man shouted at the pigeons as he stormed away; resenting the pigeons as well as the offending material. But then he realized that the pigeons were doing merely what pigeons do, just because they are pigeons and not because he was there. The man learned to check the trees for pigeons before sitting down.
Active alcoholics are people who drink. They don't drink because of you and me, but because they are alcoholics. No matter what I do, I will not change this fact, not with guilt, begging, shouting, distracting, hiding money or bottles, or keys, lying, threatening, or reasoning.
I didn't cause alcoholism and I can't control it. I can't cure it. I can continue to struggle and lose. Or I can accept that I am powerless over alcohol and alcholism, and let Al-Anon redirect my energy I've spent on fighting the disease into recovering from its effects...
Today's ReminderIt's not easy to watch someone I love continue to drink, but I can do nothing to stop them. If I see how unmanageable my life has become, I can admit that I am powerless over the disease. Then I can really begin to make my life better.
"It stands to reason that a change in us will be a force for good that will help the entire family"
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