Sobriety is the Gateway Living Recovery

A friend was going to tell his story at a retreat in Washington, so I decided to make the trip up from Oregon to hear his story. As an added bonus, an old timer was also telling his story at the same retreat.

This old timer had worked at the home office of SAA. I talked with him on the phone many times as well as exchanged e-mail messages. I looked up to this gentle and patient man so I was very excited to hear his story.

At this time in my program, it was all about staying sober: that was the goal. I was also a Big Book thumper–we didn’t have the green book back then.

We also used the AA 12×12. As this old timer was sharing his story, he mentioned that sobriety is not the goal of recovery. I was shocked! The man I looked up to could not be saying what I just heard. He must be mistaken. He continued with, “Sobriety is the gateway which we walk through to a new life.” I was stunned. The foundation of my recovery was rocked so that this piece of gentle wisdom could be placed.

My view of recovery has shifted. Yes, we can stop acting out, but we get so much more than just that. When I first came into the program, that was my goal: stop acting out. I had never asked for a new life. I had never asked to be surrounded by friends who genuinely care about and love me, but here I am in a fellowship that showed me the gateway to that new life.