Feb 11: Phrases and Slogans

Phrases and Slogans

It’s great to be here sober this morning, and to be part of this amazing group of recovering women. Heartfelt thanks to all of you who took the time to drop me a note to help me celebrate my 30 year anniversary this past week. Believe me, I don’t talk about attaining 30 years to brag. There were a whole lot of people (angels really), spiritual messages and divine intervention that kept me sober during some of my darkest days. I know without a doubt that sobriety is a gift and i will be forever grateful to those who have helped me hang on. Some who have helped me through are members of this group.

I don’t ever want to forget where I came from. At one time in my life, I was unable to do the most basic things without drinking. I had to drink before going to any kind of social gathering. By the end, I even had to drink on my lunch hour so I could get through a work day.

In my earliest days of sobriety, I remember some women saying to me, “If you can’t hang in there one day at a time, hang in there for just this moment.” It was one of many phrases that I was able to absorb and repeat over and over as I tried to figure out how to stay sober. The slogans also made a difference, particularly “Easy Does It – But Do It.” A friend of mine in early recovery said that when you are newly sober, it’s as if an entire ocean of information is being thrown at you, and all you can take away each day is a thimbleful. So each day I would take home my thimbleful of tips to stay sober, usually in the form of slogans and short phrases. Some other phrases that really impacted my ability to be sober include:

  1. Carry the message, not the drunk.
  2. You’re where you’re supposed to be.
  3. It will happen in God’s time, not my time.
  4. You may not get what you want, but you always get what you need.
  5. We walk in the shadow of tragedy, and eternal vigilance is the price we pay for sobriety.

Here’s another sentence that really made a huge difference in my recovery. Once an old-timer said to me fairly early in my sobriety, “If you’re feeling off-balance, you’re either not living in the moment or you’re fighting against God’s will.” I have turned that over and over in my mind on many occasions.

I would love to hear any slogans or phrases that have made a difference in your recovery. As always, feel free to share on this topic, or any other topic that you need to share on.

Together we can do what none of us can do alone.

Thank you all for being part of this group and for letting me lead this week.

Hugs to all who need or want one.
Valerie D DOS 2/8/88