When alcoholics live materialistically
and drink excessively,
they refuse to accept the label of "alcoholic."
Yet when they say to themselves and to the world,
"We are alcoholics," the world refuses to see them as such.
What an unthinking world may look upon as defeat,
alcoholics in AA know as a triumph of the spirit,
a triumph of humility over false pride
and self-centeredness.
How few human beings ever have the courage
to stand up before their neighbors and, in humility,
describing themselves truthfully, to say:
"This is what I really am."
c. 1985 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous Comes Of Age, p. 278

Thought to Ponder....

I would rather go through life sober,
believing I am an alcoholic, than go through life drunk,
trying to convince myself that I am not.

Recovery Related Acronym

A A = Altered Attitudes.