Have you or have you not got IT?

A reader of the blog recently wrote in to us with this enigmatic question. Apparently he (or she) had been posed it (by a recovery 'expert') whilst attending an AA meeting . Never mind Shakespeare's existential dilemma encapsulated in that immortal enquiry: “To be or not to be, that is the question”, the crucial matter for consideration these days is whether or not we've got IT! Apparently it (no ….. not that IT!) was suggested to our correspondent that they may well not have got IT in which case they'd jolly well better get a move on or …. (as is usually appended to these 'suggestions') they may well …... DRINK AGAIN! (shock horror!). So what is IT and exactly how do we get IT? Can we borrow IT? Is IT on sale at Lidl's? Is IT hiding somewhere waiting only to be discovered? Or is IT biding IT's time waiting to pounce on us as we trudge on by? Now, of course, those of us in the 'know' already .... well ..... know what IT is. We got IT a long time ago. But what about the rest of you poor things stumbling along in the dark completely ITless! Have some compassion, you say! Let us in on the secret, we beg you. What is IT? Well OK then. Just this once.... IT …..... is …...(drum roll, breath baited blah di blah di blah). IT.... is......... CONTENTED SOBRIETY (or words to that effect). What? we hear you exclaim. Is that IT you ask with a slight hint of disdain in your voice? That's the BIG deal?? Yup. That's IT! we reply though slightly disquieted by your apparent state of unimpressedness (a neologism – Shakespeare's not the only one who can make up new words). Now the term 'contented sobriety' will be heard from time to time in meetings usually expressed as an aspiration but rarely claimed as an achievement apart from those seeking to impress mere mortals such as the rest of us. Now contentment of any kind is usually a fleeting experience which vanishes before it can be thoroughly savoured. In fact the very act of delighting in it usually banishes it from our hearts as quickly as it arrived. Ordinary people (ie not recovery experts, gurus etc etc) have to make do with these fugitive moments whilst obliged otherwise to endure the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” the remainder of the time. In fact we would strongly suggest to the aforementioned 'experts' they take a gander at that particular passage from Hamlet:

“To be, or not to be, that is the question—
Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die, to sleep—
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
The Heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks
That Flesh is heir to?”

Here is a depiction of life's experiences which we would argue is slightly more accurate than that so frequently characterised by the 'happy, joyous and free' brigade (ie. cult). Sobriety, we would suggest, reflects an ability to deal with this “Sea of troubles” rather than pretending they don't exist. (Interestingly there's no mention of sponsorship in this passage! Could it be that Shakespeare didn't have a sponsor? How did he manage? Well he did have a patron but that's another matter). So, in conclusion, we'd suggest that anyone in AA who's staying off the 'sauce' one day at a time and doing what they can to “take Arms against a Sea of troubles” have probably got IT. And if you're not sure there's plenty of other things of far greater importance to concern yourself with – like paying the bills, raising the kids, …... minding your own business!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous ….. and YEAH … we've got IT!)