Much seems to depend on how I look at any situation. There are many people in the world who can drink or use without suffering horrible consequences. I can choose to set myself apart from them if I so desire. However, if I do so, I exclude millions of potential friends and acquaintances from my life, to forgo possible learning and potential growth. I can accept that since they don’t have to drink when we go out for dinner, they can drink at dinner, or they may not. I go places with so-called normies on a regular basis.
The places we go serve alcohol, and my friends just as easily order alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages. Their choice to order nonalcoholic beverages is perfectly normal for them. My old thinking tells me they will order a beer just because they can. However, they may not be in the mood for alcohol and choose not to order it. I regularly go to restaurants that serve alcohol—with a friend who has no problem with alcohol—and he or she chooses to order a soft drink or a glass of iced tea. Even if he or she does order a beer, it doesn’t bother me because it only bothers me if I drink, and I don’t drink because drinking makes me abnormal. I have no trouble watching another person consume an alcoholic beverage.
While I have excluded alcohol from my diet, I have not excluded people from my life. I like most people. I used to like alcohol. I choose to exclude alcohol from my life just as I choose to exclude certain people from my life. As long as I do not drink, I can invite some very interesting people into my life, and they can invite me into theirs. It is a win-win situation. I choose not to drink and I enjoy the company of others, some of whom choose to drink and others who do not.
Why is it that seeing a disgustingly drunken person does not make me want to drink, but seeing people enjoy alcohol causes me discomfort? Some might say this is because seeing the disgustingly drunk person reminds me of where I have been. I would tend to agree. However, I have also enjoyed alcohol. I used to love to drink. If I am completely honest, and I try to be, I’ll admit I would enjoy being able to drink today. By that I mean I wish I were able to drink without all those unsightly and dire consequences. Unfortunately, when I drink, I end up like the disgusting drunk. Still, why should I begrudge someone else the pleasure of enjoying a cocktail? I don’t begrudge people what they have in their lives: their jobs, spouses, children, money, cars, etc. (At least if I am living the program, I don’t begrudge people these things.) Then why would I begrudge their desire or ability to drink alcohol? My guess is that it is because I would enjoy being able to drink today without all those terrible consequences. However, it is long past time for me to stop wishing things were different and accept the fact that some people can have alcohol, while I choose not to do so today. After all, using for me is now a matter of choice. I could drink a beer with them. But I know where I would end up, even though I don’t know what the long-term results might be. Because of this uncertainty, I choose not to drink. I do this because I don’t want to be abnormal anymore, and when I don’t drink I can be as normal as anybody else. While I can honestly say that I would enjoy being able to drink or use socially, I know the reality of my disease, and I no longer choose the path that leads to abnormal behavior. The power to choose is wonderful.
There are many who choose not to partake in alcoholic beverages. There are more of them making this choice, more people who are not addicts, than there are people who are addicts in recovery. (Studies show that approximately one-third of the population in the United States does not drink alcoholic beverages.) A little math puts the number of nondrinkers in this country somewhere around one hundred million people. One hundred million is a large number of nondrinkers. For whatever reason, one out of three people does not drink. Researching this information helped me drive home the point for myself. One hundred million people in this country are not drinking. This statistic made me dizzy while I was trying to take it all in. It gave me a different perspective on the “drinking/not drinking dilemma” that I used to dwell on. I used to think everybody drank or used socially, was in recovery, or was an addict or a drunk. This new information helped me to see things in an entirely different light.
I no longer see normies and those in recovery. I see people in and out of the program. This makes for an important shift in my attitude about life. Social users and nonusers are people who are outside the program. The person who is still getting loaded is also outside the program. According to the primary purpose of my twelve-step program, I am supposed to help those who wish to recover from their addiction. However, I recall nothing in the program that says I should exclude other nondrinkers or social drinkers from my life. In fact, program literature talks about how, once I begin practicing the program, I can go anywhere and do anything if I am spiritually fit. Now that I do my best to stay spiritually fit, I can participate in life. Today I participate in life and see it as a completely normal thing to do.
“When I don’t drink, I can be as normal as anybody else.” This is a direct quote from my first sponsor. When he first mentioned it to me, it flew over my head. I thought that being alcoholic made me different from others and that I would be different for the rest of my life. However, I have come to understand that everybody has troubles and issues. We are all normal in some areas and not so normal in others; drinking has nothing to do with being normal. I have talked with many people who have no problem drinking alcohol. They also have crazy ideas, just as I do. They just don’t act on them. When I drank and drugged, I used to act on any thought that came into my head, as long as it “seemed like a good idea at the time.” Today I don’t do that. I take time to analyze the thought, the situation, even the consequences, before choosing to act. These are very normal activities. Giving other people credit for being normal because they do not drink leaves out all the possible difficulties they may have in their lives such as the illnesses they may have or the financial, family, or social demons they may encounter. These issues and concerns are not included in my equation or my understanding of what is normal.
Many people whom I consider normal have disorders that they believe make them different or abnormal, yet they somehow find ways to cope. There are so many diseases and disorders that I couldn’t possibly list them all, but a short list could include such things as overeating, gambling, smoking, sexual issues, abuse against oneself or others, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Many of these examples are common manifestations of the disease of addiction while others are not. Let’s not overlook cancer, diabetes, and other disorders of this ilk. These diseases may differ from addiction, but they nonetheless require a change in lifestyle not unlike what I have experienced. What makes these people seem normal is that they deal with these issues in more healthy ways than the ways I used to deal with my drinking. However, today I deal with my drinking in the healthiest way possible. I abstain and participate in a program that helps me learn to live a healthy and fulfilling life. While some people may not need, or use, a program to deal with their issues, many people like me do seek help. Seeking help for problems and issues we encounter is normal behavior. There are counselors, psychiatrists, and psychologists whose offices are full of those seeking help. There are many forms of help available for addiction, and there are many self-help groups. Self-help titles comprise a large portion of available titles. Bookstores would not sell them if people did not want them. We all need a little help now and then. My participating in a program to learn how to cope with life issues is no different from another person’s use of self-help books or support groups.
As I see it, my fellowship mirrors life in general to allow for me to try out new thoughts and behaviors in a safe haven before I attempt them in the world at large. I sought and received help for my problem from my fellowship. What I didn’t expect was all the other support I received, both directly and indirectly. When I look at others in the program I see that they come from different walks of life, have all kinds of issues, differ in their willingness to try new things, and have big and small goals. Regardless of who or what they are, they all have one thing in common: They sit at the tables and seek help just like me.
My sponsor once told me that if you clean up a horse thief, you just have a clean horse thief, unless they decide to stop stealing horses. There are people,