Archaic Wording

There is much literature to help guide those of us that are in recovery from substance abuse and/or dependence along the path of recovery. All of it has been helpful to someone. Most of it is able to direct us around, or through, the common problems a recovering person encounters. Some of it is written in the language of yesteryear and it is this language I'd like to write about today.

The big book of Alcoholics Anonymous is called, surprisingly, "Alcoholics Anonymous", and was written in the 1930's. (The book contains basic information about the alcoholic mind set, behaviors, problems, etc., of alcoholics. Those who are in the program of AA refer to this book as 'our basic text book'. There is also much information for those who employ, marry and live and work with, alcoholics.) Millions of people in countries all over the world use it to get and stay sober. Millions of copies of this book are bought and used every year. The book contains a design for living that works for anyone. You need not be alcoholic to benefit from the message contained in the first 164 pages of this book. The first 164 pages of the Big Book* remain the same as when written in the 1930's.
(* consider the first 164 pages and the Big Book as the same thing in the confines of this blog.)

Every once in a while someone, usually new to recovery, will make snide remarks about the wording in the Big Book. I want to roll my eyes. The book has been popular ever since it was published in the 1930's for crying out loud! How many other books written back then are still in demand today? It has helped millions! It still helps millions! It has saved lives, marriages, families and other relationships!

I realize that, in this day and age, we are supposed to be offended when the word 'he' is used to signify everyone. I'm as ruled by political correctness as the next guy. Using trendy words is super important to me, too. Heaven forbid that anybody uses a big word and makes someone feel bad about having a limited vocabulary. But I'm trying to stay clean and sober here and, right or wrong, that is my primary purpose. This might sound egotistical, but I'm sharp enough to grasp what I'm reading no matter what pronoun, or whatever, is used.

When I was growing up, my mom would tell me to look up the words in a dictionary if I didn't know what they meant. Even though this was back in the days when we used a horse and buggy to go to the mall, there are still dictionaries around. There are even web sites you can use to find the definition of a word you don't know!

When I'm reading recovery literature with a pigeon (Don't like that word for someone being sponsored? Find out what it means before you shoot your mouth off.) and they don't know the definition of words like commenced, antipathy, paramount, entrepreneur, trudge or spree, I tell them to look it up. This gives them something to do besides think about boozing or using.

If there is nothing more wrong in your life than someone using archaic (old fashioned) words, why not spend a little more time telling the old HP how grateful you are for the many blessings He has given you? If you have bigger problems than this, quit wasting time on such trivial (of little importance) matters and get busy finding solutions to those problems. I'm trying to stay clean and sober and do the old HP's will. I don't have time for such nonsense (bull shit).

Have a good and sober day.