Vagrants

My sponsor once told me about Vagrants

Here’s the definition:
1a : one who has no established residence and wanders idly from place to place without lawful or visible means of support
b : one (such as a prostitute or drunkard) whose conduct constitutes statutory vagrancy

My sponsor was referring to thoughts – such as worry, remorse, or morbid reflection – thoughts that come into your mind that you simply must pray away, because if you open the door to the thought it will just come in and make itself at home – and take over your life….

but he also referred to people in AA – he said there are vagrants in AA – they have no established residency – such that they have not committed to Alcoholics Anonymous, they have no home group – no sponsor- no program – they just come there for the free coffee –

They are simply freeloading off of AA and they are like cobwebs, they catch dust – if they are not cleaned out, they will eventually be the cause of the downfall of AA. They are like bindweed – if you don’t weed the bindweed out of your garden it will strangle the vegetables.

It’s not that we literally kick people out of AA – no instead we make the atmosphere intolerable to the disease of alcoholism – such that – these vagrants either get serious or they get out and try some more controlled drinking.

I don’t hang out with active alcoholics and I don’t let crazy dry alcoholics have a say at my expense on something they know nothing about. What I do is that I am ruthless when it comes to my sobriety so I am simply intolerant of mediocracy and I make the atmosphere of my space so unpleasant to someone who wants to pee on my petunias,they simply move on.

Of course they get mad because they had taken up residence and are used to getting a little attention – even negative attention to them is some attention –

One thing I have noticed about vagrants is that they always are taking my inventory – telling me how I am closed-minded or this and that – and that’s fine – I am closed minded to them. I am closed minded to any narcissistic personality that wants to distract me from what is important – carrying the message to the alcoholic who is DONE – not the alcoholic who wants to whine about AA not being perfect for them but the alcoholic who is ready to get a dictionary, roll up their sleeves and make some sacrifices.

Today I worked with a gal who needs to make a plan to go the Domestic Violence shelter because her boyfriend beats her up when he gets drunk and then she drinks. The question in More About Alcoholism is – do you recognize that you are bodily and mentally different from your fellows? Hence – if you want to quit drinking you are going to have to leave this guy – you need to have a plan of where to go if he starts to get violent again –

Preferably she would just leave before he throws her across the room again but I understand her dilemma because she does not love herself enough yet to see that she needs to get the fuck out but this is what I want my focus to be on – these people – not on vagrants. So vagrants – wonder on down the road to the next sucker who will let you in, because it’s not me.

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