Ahhh, the age old debate, though it's been my experience that the only people who truly believe that quality outweighs quantity are those who have themselves experienced quantity and lost it.
It is often those new in the fellowship or back for another round who diminish or down play the legitimacy of length of sobriety in an effort to feel better about their personal position on the ladder...AA is not a level playing field.
In a perfect world these two are directly proportional to one another, where in as your years increase so shall you generalized quality. Now, that is not to say there won't be the obvious low points along the way, but our program is divinely designed to lead us to God and the closer we get the better off we should be.
That is not to say there are not some old, grouchy members of our fellowship who don't want what we have and we certainly don't want what they have, or do we? If the goal is long-term sobriety and the freedom that comes with that, then who are we to judge the elder member who has a chip? I was told once that if I remained sober long enough I would get well against my will, and that has been my experience. The quality of my life has improved exponentially. The idea that a slipper or new person would stand in judgment of a veteran of our fellowship is unwise at best. My sponsor used to say, "I'm happy that I am sober, but not sober because I am happy". Placing these sorts of emotional conditions on our sobriety are the very elements that have crept into our fellowship and caused a decline in recovery rates.
The goal is freedom from alcohol on a physical, mental, and spiritual plane. It is contrary to popular opinion to be happy and joyous as well. While I have certainly been happy and joyous, I have also suffered a great deal and a new person looking at me through the pair of glasses that judges based on quality would certainly run from me. However, that same new person looking at me from a different perspective would say to themselves..."look at this person staying sober despite the obvious difficulties he is enduring, I want the freedom that comes from that"...
Here is an example: A certain member of AA becomes engaged in an argument with another member at the first's place of employment, member A sees member B angry and upset and passes judgment, that his sobriety must not be that good...Member A has slipped and is back again and member B has been sober continuously 3 times longer than the other member.
In this example member A has no right to call into question the quality of the other's sobreity because they have no idea the amount of pain or work that has gone into it.
I am grateful today that the legitimacy of my sobriety is based in the years I have and not the look on my face or the length of my fuse.
It is often those new in the fellowship or back for another round who diminish or down play the legitimacy of length of sobriety in an effort to feel better about their personal position on the ladder...AA is not a level playing field.
In a perfect world these two are directly proportional to one another, where in as your years increase so shall you generalized quality. Now, that is not to say there won't be the obvious low points along the way, but our program is divinely designed to lead us to God and the closer we get the better off we should be.
That is not to say there are not some old, grouchy members of our fellowship who don't want what we have and we certainly don't want what they have, or do we? If the goal is long-term sobriety and the freedom that comes with that, then who are we to judge the elder member who has a chip? I was told once that if I remained sober long enough I would get well against my will, and that has been my experience. The quality of my life has improved exponentially. The idea that a slipper or new person would stand in judgment of a veteran of our fellowship is unwise at best. My sponsor used to say, "I'm happy that I am sober, but not sober because I am happy". Placing these sorts of emotional conditions on our sobriety are the very elements that have crept into our fellowship and caused a decline in recovery rates.
The goal is freedom from alcohol on a physical, mental, and spiritual plane. It is contrary to popular opinion to be happy and joyous as well. While I have certainly been happy and joyous, I have also suffered a great deal and a new person looking at me through the pair of glasses that judges based on quality would certainly run from me. However, that same new person looking at me from a different perspective would say to themselves..."look at this person staying sober despite the obvious difficulties he is enduring, I want the freedom that comes from that"...
Here is an example: A certain member of AA becomes engaged in an argument with another member at the first's place of employment, member A sees member B angry and upset and passes judgment, that his sobriety must not be that good...Member A has slipped and is back again and member B has been sober continuously 3 times longer than the other member.
In this example member A has no right to call into question the quality of the other's sobreity because they have no idea the amount of pain or work that has gone into it.
I am grateful today that the legitimacy of my sobriety is based in the years I have and not the look on my face or the length of my fuse.
Quantity vs. Quality