As we’re making a life for ourselves in AA, meeting new friends, finding a place we finally belong in meetings, and learning how to handle our resentments, we might hear, “No dating in the first year!” and think, huh? Alcoholics have a hard time being told what to do. We just don’t listen. Obviously. The Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book doesn’t specifically say no dating, but what it does say is that the alcoholic tends to find themselves drunk at exactly the wrong time, usually when some important decision needs to be made or some commitment needs to be kept. That’s a clue. Because things like dating, new career paths, and moving are all important decisions, and those are the exact moments where our alcoholism likes to wake up. So maybe we just relax a little, take it easy, and try to lean on the experience in the rooms, not as rules, but as people who’ve already stepped in the holes we’re about to step in. Getting sober is hard enough without piling on a bunch of new responsibilities all at once.
Are you relaxing and taking it easy on this journey?
