I’m Awfully Proud of That | Sober and Unashamed

“You’re awful proud of yourself,” he scoffed. “I’ll save a seat for you at a meeting for when you relapse.” I’d just met this AA lifer at a church service that catered to people suffering from addiction. He had asked me how I got sober. When I told him Alcoholics Anonymous wasn’t part of my solution, I guess he didn’t like my answer.

I couldn’t possibly count the number of times I’ve heard that pride leads to relapse. From the best I can surmise, the idea that “pride is dangerous” is a foundational tenet of twelve-step philosophy. There’s just one problem.

The concept is total bullshit.

I am extremely proud of my sobriety. I’m proud of the family my wife and I are raising. I am proud of the career we have pieced together for ourselves. I’m proud of our one-story bungalow that we’ll have paid off in a few more years. I’m proud of my sense of humor and that I’ve learned to be a damn good listener (and not just an incessantly bloviating talker). I am proud that I yanked my life out of a death spiral before it was too late, and I’m proud of all I’ve learned about growing into emotional, spiritual and relational maturity.

And I’m ridiculously proud to be among the enlightened minority who understands that alcohol is not meant for human consumption, and it causes a myriad…