OKaysez

 

Made A Decision

(47)

                        Happy, Joyous and Free

The first thing a newcomer to AA is likely to notice on arrival is that members are smiling at and laughing with one another. They quickly learn we laugh throughout many of our meetings, and often that laugh is about some of our drinking escapades - events that could easily curl the hair of a non-alcoholic. 

The late great actor and comedian Robin Williams once said he had done things while drinking and drugging that made the Devil back away from him in shock and exclaim, "DUDE!!!"

Being able to laugh at ourselves and each other is vital to our recovery. From these shared laughs we gain the knowledge we've all done similar things when drinking and yet, here we are, sober, happy and freely able to use those experiences to help others. 

Humour is a key component of the recovery in our AA program, for which I remain heartily grateful. I entered AA fearful if I quit drinking I would become "sober" in the more worldly definition of that word - ie: "serious, sensible, and solemn." I'm also certain I would never have been able to stay sober had that been an actual requirement. 

At first I feared I might never laugh again without a drink in hand, forgetting that any laughter connected to my drinking took place early on and had ended long before I arrived at my first AA meeting.

 

Discovering in AA that I could laugh at myself, and in the process begin healing those memories of guilt and shame about my drinking, was - and remains - a huge part of my own sober recovery. 

Humour is the one common denominator in all my friends (in and out of AA) - all of them make me laugh. And the laughs I've had in meetings are a big part of the reason I kept coming back.

What I like best about AA humour is that great truths usually come all wrapped up in it. Like the man who said "One thing I could never understand was how someone could walk into a bar, order one drink and go home. I would walk into a bar, order one drink and BE home."

And the fellow who pointed out our drug alcohol has a number of side effects "including one that got me jailed 22 times." 

Or my sponsor's observation: 

"When I got sober I wanted to become famous in an anonymous program." (Still cracks me up every time I think of it.)

Science now tells us negative thoughts can poison our cells and that being angry, judgemental or critical triggers brain chemicals able to poison our immune systems. So now, instead of an apple a day, I try for a hearty laugh at least once every day ... even if the only thing I find to laugh at is me.  

It was many years ago when I read the book "Anatomy of an Illness," in which the author documented his recovery from a fatal illness by using belly laughs for a cure.  He watched funny movies, listened to tapes of comedians' routines, sought the company of cheerful and funny people - and over time he got well. 

Alcoholism is a progressive terminal illness, too, so introducing plenty of laughter into our lives makes good sense. And how can we fail to laugh when we hear things in meetings like: 

"This fellowship is like an adjustable wrench. It fits every size nut."

"Normal drinkers make such a big deal out of knowing their limit. I knew my limit, too, I just always passed out before I reached it."

And then there's this one from my brother, also a sober alcoholic: "Giving a birthday chip to a drunk for staying sober is like giving one to a person with hemorrhoids for staying off a bucking bronco."

 Humour is vastly underrated as a teaching tool. Some of the brightest and most thought-provoking people in our society (and in all of show business) are the stand-up observational comics who - using humour - identify crazy societal behaviors that should be obvious to us, but often aren't until they point them out. 

And long ago I had a history teacher who gave us a lot of funny tidbits of information about famous people. Like when Napoleon Bonaparte was attacked by rabbits in a bunny hunt he had organized for himself and his men. Some 3,000 rabbits were released from cages, but instead of running away they viciously charged and scattered the soldiers! 

(President Jimmy Carter had a run in with an enraged rabbit once, too, as some of us old folks will remember.) 

In that history class I also learned the 16th American President, Abraham Lincoln, was at one time a licensed bartender. He opened a bar in 1833 with his friend, William Berry, but the place soon closed after Berry (probably one of us) drank up most of the liquor. 

That history teacher changed my entire attitude to learning about history for the better and I still remember how much I enjoyed his class because of the laughter. Bad teachers drone on and depress their students. Bad meetings do the same.

As my friend Tim says, "A bad meeting to me is when it's a "moan-a-logue."  

Some meetings are just that, members moaning about their lives and about how tough sober living is. Really? Do they honestly not remember the drunk driving charges? The police being called to settle family disputes? Pissing their bed?

Yes, sober life has it's tough moments, too, and I have nothing against a good bitch session. But in sobriety we have solutions for our problems to be found by working our twelve steps and in reading our literature.

 Do some work. Read the books. Learn stuff ... 

and then bring some recovery to your meetings. People there will identify with your problems and be inspired by your solutions. 

There's sure to be some smiles and laughter, too, when we hear things like:

"Only two people can make me drink. Poor Me and The Great I Am."

Or this, from my friend, Nyk: "When I got to AA I was so angry I could have drowned your goldfish."

And these:

 "If it's not one thing it's another. And if it's not another, it's your mother."

"I run around all day trying to avoid me."

"The best time to quit drinking is while we're still alive."

"They fuck you up, your Mum and Dad. They really, really do. They give you all their craziness and save some just for you."

As it says in the meditation book "Each Day a New Beginning:"

"Choosing to see the bright side of life, to laugh at our mistakes, lessens our pain, emotional and physical. Laughter encourages wellness. It is habit-forming and, better yet, contagious. Bringing laughter to others can heal them as well."

Hearing something funny first-hand in a meeting is the best way to discover the healing power of laughter. So go to lots of meetings and laugh often. It's the best prescription of all for what ails us. 

The generation that produced my Mum and Dad used to say, "Laughter is the Best Medicine." If you agree - pass some on!