Karma, Baby

"The first essential requirement for successful treatment is the sincere desire to be helped on the part of the alcoholic himself.  Nothing constructive has ever been accomplished or ever will be with men who are dragged or pushed toward curative measures by friends or relatives.  Alcoholics are apt to be extremely stubborn people."  Richard Peabody

Again, Richard Peabody wrote this stuff in 1930, long before Bill W began to conceptualize Alcoholics Anonymous.  I admire that Bill and Dr. Bob both had the willingness to be open-minded about anything that could help a problem drinker get things under control.  Bill was a salesman and a relentless promoter, a man with a huge ego who was pretty sure he had a great idea about how to do just about anything, so this willingness to read and study and take advice from others was a powerful part of the formation of our Program.

Karma:  A force or law of nature which causes one to reap what one sows.

"Adopt a positive attitude in the face of difficulty.  Imagine that by undergoing a difficult situation with grace you are also preventing worse consequences from karmas that you would otherwise have to experience in the future.  Take upon yourself the burden of everyone else's suffering of that type."  The Dali Lama

And here's Mr. D. Lama, leader of a spiritual philosophy that some scholars believe got going around 2500 BC, hinting that if you go through something difficult then this knowledge and experience may fit you to be of maximum service to a fellow sufferer down the road.  

And - wait!  there's more! - he seems to be saying something like "if you want to get out of a hole the first thing is to stop digging."  If you're a drunk going through a tough time there's nothing that will make things worse than picking up a drink.

Four and a half centuries ago, people.