Happy, Joyous, and Free is a Bunch of Bullshit.

Submitted by Gunthar2000 on Fri, 08/17/2012 - 17:27

No one is happy all of the time. Tears, pain, emotional upset are also a part of the human experience.
AA is full of shit when they make these promises.

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Clara

Fri, 08/17/2012 - 17:41

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To be sure, but I have a

To be sure, but I have a.great deal to be happy for and I roll with life's punches easier

Remember Christopher Stevens when you vote.

disclosure

Fri, 08/17/2012 - 17:43

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God damit! I've been screwed!

Vicky345uk

Fri, 08/17/2012 - 18:18

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I never really felt happy

I never really felt happy joyous and free. I felt depressed, anxious and suicidal.

Clara

Fri, 08/17/2012 - 19:24

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Well, in comparison, I feel happy joyous and free. I didn't feel joy at all before sobriety. Joy was all my father ever wanted for me. I definitely feel as if the glass if half full verses empty. I didn't share optimism before.

Remember Christopher Stevens when you vote.

avogadno

Fri, 08/17/2012 - 19:43

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Fake it till you make it.

The Promises should likely just be called "The Lies".

Gunthar, you are right. In the real world, people get angry and have resentments. We also feel joy and sadness, most of the time expressing ourselves appropriately. By that I mean, not pretending that we have found the golden ticket when what we have is balance. Good and bad.

If things aren't going my way I might try and change it if it's possible so that I can feel better or be more productive. I don't just sit on it saying I am powerless of places and things. I don't just change the the things I can, I change what I feel needs to be changed and keep the good if I can.

Pro Empowerment!
Truth about AA: http://orange-papers.org/menu1.html
Expose AA: http://www.expaa.org/

Clara

Fri, 08/17/2012 - 21:40

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How is this inconsistent with

How is this inconsistent with the serenity prayer, Avo? I kept spending energy trying to change things that I knew would never change, but that didn't mean that I wasn't helpful and productive in bringing about needed change in other things. There are plenty of things in the world that I am absolutely powerless to change so I don't waste or concern myself with the effort anymore. That was huge in some respects.

Remember Christopher Stevens when you vote.

avogadno

Fri, 08/17/2012 - 22:20

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It's mainly different because

It's mainly different because the serenity prayer says "change the things I CAN". This I know at first glance appears only slightly different between “change the things I NEED to”.

I contend that much of AA involves pressure to change things in our lives that fit the standards of AA, and not necessarily changes that were intended as an original goal. For example, religion or "spirituality". This wasn't an area of my life that I wanted or needed to change, especially in a support group for substance abuse. The pressure of AA to make changes to their idea of spirituality is enormous and so much that some groups may shun you if you don't take that step.

You may have had difficulty in your life in accepting powerlessness over some things. I did not. Remember, powerless in AA represents the first drink and so on (among other things). I needed not to accept that because I wasn't and am not powerless over using.

Another thing about the serenity prayer. Admittance or acceptance of changes doesn't have to include prayer. It's an assessment of our individuality. Acknowledging it isn't the same as praying for it.

Pro Empowerment!
Truth about AA: http://orange-papers.org/menu1.html
Expose AA: http://www.expaa.org/

Clara

Sat, 08/18/2012 - 07:27

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It may not have to include

It may not have to include prayer, and I am sure that atheists must believe that. One day I will dwelve into how people live without that, and I personally never needed a prayer in accepting or understanding change. There were also times when praying made that a bit easier. Admittedly not everything NEEDS to be changed but that isn't how people see it. But I was a person that believed that things (possibly EVERYthing) could be changed. It took a long time to understand that some things are just not meant to be. When my mother was dying, there was money for a heart and lung transplant and medical transportation, but no candidate. But in order to have one, there must be a set available which means someone has to die, so you have to wrap your head around that. The patient also has to be qualified medically, and sometimes she could, other times not... It's an astonishing process to go through, and if I look at the serentiy prayer as an emotional process even if I don't choose to accept it as a prayer, it surely was helpful. That was several years prior to joining the fellowship.

Remember Christopher Stevens when you vote.

becket

Fri, 08/17/2012 - 21:56

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"I hate fuckin happiness!!

"I hate fuckin happiness!! Nobody knows what "joyous" means except a bunch of goddamn flakes. "Free"? Please. As long as we're stuck here, NOBODY is free!"

~ Mr. Drysdale, after a half-dozen dry martinis

“The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks.”
― Christopher Hitchens, Letters to a Young Contrarian