According to Albert Einstein, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome. For addicts and alcoholics I believe the definition of insanity is denying the reality that one, the other, or both controlled our lives. Insanity is believing that we either do not have a problem or that we can overcome the problem on our own with our own self-will. How many of us have said or heard, "I can quit whenever I want." When I was drinking I quit every day - right after finishing a fifth of Jack Daniels. That is insanity.
One story I relate in God is at the Meeting is a conversation I had with an acquaintance. He told me he drinks to the point of blacking out and wondered if he had a drinking problem. I suggested that he might and that he was putting himself and others at risk if he was driving while in a blackout. He replied that he would never do that. Of course, the irony is that if he were in a blackout he would have no consciousness of driving! That is insanity.
Another fellow I know got on an airplane drunk (pre TSA), fell asleep, didn't wake up through a stop and ended up getting off the plane in Las Vegas, expecting to be in Denver. He had absolutely no idea how he had travelled 700 miles past his destination. That is insanity.
The first Step of A.A. is admitting the reality of our addiction. We have to leave the make-believe world behind and come into the real world where we admit that we are powerless over alcohol and our lives are truly unmanageable. Until this Step is taken, we continue to live in a world where waking up in the wrong city, driving in a blackout or believing that finishing our latest fifth is "quitting" is reality.
If you are following this blog, you have probably already moved into the real world. If not, take the Step - admit that you are powerless and accept the help of the real Power - the Power that can only come from God.
p.s. If you'd like to share any of your experiences of living in the insane world of alcoholism, please leave a comment below.
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